༺♡︎༻

Michael!! <3

[thriller-ghoul]

— ༻༒ ︎ @THRILLERGHOULL ⏾

main: @thrillerghoull

Michael Jackson fics !! ๑(◕‿◕)๑ (more coming soon)

DISCLAIMER: I try to make my stories as lore accurate and respectful as I can. you can read them in your perspective, however they’re all story based, not to fulfill fantasies! (I’ll be using those ‘x reader’ hashtags though lol). all sfw too :) I also only post on tumblr!!!

masterlist

[thriller-ghoul]

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥,

Chapter 5: Meeting The Picture That You Sent Along

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

synopsis: as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, it's only natural to gain a massive fandom that admires you tremendously. with that being said, it also only makes sense that the gates of Havenhurst open wide to greet the loads of mail sacks every week. though staff often reviewed these letters briefly, Michael was still able to personally read and reply to them. mail consisted of paragraphs showing appreciation/support, love confessions, and gifts, the usual you'd find in fan mail. he did his best to reply in a heartfelt manner for each individual message. while in the backseat of his car, he stumbled across a letter sent from a fan that stood out like no other.

a/n: last and final chapter! — I had no idea people would actually like this fic, like I said, it’s my first Michael fic and it was scrapped because I was testing the waters. I’m sooooo sorry for disappearing but if I’m being honest I never had an ending for this story so I took a break from this account because every time I wrote it, it sucked😭 very sorry to those who liked the story, here’s an ending. (more of a summary)

Michael continued the ongoing tour with his brothers from november to december. after every show he sat in his hotel room and wondered about her. if she ever got the letter, if she was happy with it. although he didn’t have a way to know, he felt relieved that the letter was taken care of. he knew that once he got back to california, he couldn’t wait to find another note from her.

winter, 1974 comes around and surprisingly, throughout the timeline of the whole trip, no response from her. no letter, not even a call. there was a pit in his heart, almost like a pause in his life. he never imagined something like this could’ve happened. sure, he’s liked many people around him before, he wasn’t new to romantic feelings, she was an entirely different case. he didn’t actually know her. he had no access to her, he had no true idea what she was like, he didn’t even know the sound of her voice.

Michael started to fall for someone who was quite literally across the country, and it was all done in secrecy (except Bill, he was trusted). Latoya somewhat knew as well but, he still wasn’t sure of himself. it was tricky territory to be in. he didn’t know if he should push it with another letter. maybe that was crossing something. then again, he already mailed her a reply back once.

one letter back was harmless, he was just replying to a fan normally. would he be bothering her if he gave another one?

(on her side) it was 10 at night—she tossed and turned in her bed, mind overcrowded with thoughts of his letter. she planned on calling the number that night, but it was taking her an eternity to build up the courage. she had to do it any minute now before it got later. she sat up, spun the rotary dial, and held the phone up to her ear.

the phone rang, and rang, and rang.. someone answered with a “hello?” her eyes shot up in surprise and she immediately hung up. she did not expect such a quick answer. Michael looked down at the phone in confusion and slowly set it down. that was weird.

she felt panic almost immediately after. it sounded just like him. she left it alone for the time being, but tried again a few nights later, and again, she was speechless. she had no idea what to say, and he was concerned. did this letter get sent to the wrong person and now they have his number? he was prepared to hang up, and then, she admitted it. “I’m the one sending you letters.” Michael froze momentarily, then a smile formed on his face. “it’s you? oh my goodness, I can’t believe it!”

they caught up on a lot, it was as if it wasn’t their first phone call. Michael’s heart fluttered the entire time, he found a friend who was easy to talk to. the familiarity was transmitting through the phone.

she didn’t feel as weird sending letters anymore now that they actually new each other. it wasn’t one sided anymore, and it definitely wasn’t casual either. they both had feelings for each other and it became clearer now that they could hear each other’s tones. january of 1975 he released his album Forever Michael, and it was obvious who some of the songs were for.

there was also a problem that was pretty hard to ignore, she couldn’t see him. he was busy performing all around the world, anywhere but Illinois. they kept in contact, and as they kept in contact, their shared longing was increasing. the tour felt extremely long because of this.

on november 30th of that year, the tour with his brothers concluded. december was right around the corner, he had just the way to celebrate.

he kept it simple, talked to her on the phone a few times a week, sent letters back and forth, the usual. what she didn’t know was that he had a surprise waiting for her at the end of the month.

the Jacksons are jehovah witnesses, but Joseph always loved him some extra cash. he booked the boys some christmas gigs in chicago, and Michael was ecstatic to say the least. he could finally see her, maybe even buy her a gift, maybe even spend christmas with her. he couldn’t wait for this moment to come. he was counting down the days.

it was december 24th, and she had spent her whole evening standing outside a few rows away from a stage instead of being at a family reunion (I’d do that ngl). she told her mom she was going out for a walk with her cousins but ended up not returning. to think she almost wasn’t able to go, but she had to see Michael. and she knew he’d probably expect to see her, even though he never mentioned it.

the show happened, nothing she hasn’t seen before, her goal was now to find a way to Michael. pushing past people to see the brothers has never been more difficult until that very moment. they were bigger stars now, so a good portion of the city was there, and what you could call a population was trying to find them, including herself.

once she made it to at least a little bit closer to the tour bus, she noticed the crowd walking back in disappointment, and that’s when she realized they had left. she walked back with the group in pure sadness. she knew he wouldn’t have been able to try to find her if he wanted to, which is why she tried so hard to reach him first, but failed.

she took the route back to her house, but actually didn’t walk in. she didn’t want to enter a home getting frantic looks and a scolding right away, she sat behind a car parked outside and fiddled with some flowers for half an hour. what’s 30 another minutes to an almost 2 hour show and an additional hour of a wait? she sat there until she felt she was there for too long. turning to her body to the direction of the front door, she took slow steps up the driveway, and then…

“I don’t celebrate if it’s not on TV but, merry christmas.”

the voice she heard sing earlier. her eyes followed the sound and there he was. Michael was actually there, with no stage or rope separating them. face to face, personally. she huffed a laugh in disbelief. he smiled in return, walking up to her with a box. “I got you something, I hope you like it.” she beamed in joy and pulled him in for a hug. “I’ll be sure to love it! come on, let’s go inside!” if you asked her 30 minutes ago to go inside that house you’d have to drag her, but she didn’t even mind getting yelled at now cause Michael was here.

as soon as the front door even creaked open, “where the hell have you been!?” she took a step in before Michael did. he caught a glimpse of anger from a few relatives before all of them switched it to shock in a millisecond. everybody went quiet cause why is Michael Jackson here😭?

“…I was serious about seeing the Jackson 5…”

everybody switched up and greeted him with open arms (help😭😭). every aunt that was chatting shit about the supposed ‘run away’ kid was real sweet right after, but no one batted an eye and it didn’t matter. Michael made her christmas, and it was a night everyone remembered. from then on, Michael randomly popped in at her house for a visit whenever he’d be in chicago whether that’d be a family gathering or a regular day. they also didn’t have a label until that past christmas, when they finally made it exclusive. from friends, to pen pals, to something special. and it all started on a letter where she wrote, “Dear Michael,”.

[thriller-ghoul]

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥,

Chapter 4: “You’ll Probably Never Get This Letter, Michael”

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

synopsis: as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, it's only natural to gain a massive fandom that admires you tremendously. with that being said, it also only makes sense that the gates of Havenhurst open wide to greet the loads of mail sacks every week. though staff often reviewed these letters briefly, Michael was still able to personally read and reply to them. mail consisted of paragraphs showing appreciation/support, love confessions, and gifts, the usual you'd find in fan mail. he did his best to reply in a heartfelt manner for each individual message. while in the backseat of his car, he stumbled across a letter sent from a fan that stood out like no other.

a/n: mention of an OC I guess, I have no idea what to name her yet so it’ll be a little confusing to who ‘she’ refers to. it’ll probably get revealed later in the series though, let me know if yall have name ideas! also, the letter included is one from an old magazine/paper that Michael supposedly wrote! of course I tweaked a few things just a bit. if this chapter isn’t as good, I had writing block. not for ideas, but for actually WRITING😭

Fall, 1974 - Chicago, Illinois

“good morning, is this the residency of-?”

“yep, thanks!” she interrupted as she quickly snagged the stack of envelopes from the mailman and shut the door.

she turned around and let out a short breath, flipping through the papers in anticipation. “water bill, rent, magazine,..”

“you can’t keep expecting a response back, y’know. he’s a singer. I bet he doesn’t even check the mail with how much he receives..” her older sister said from the table, eyeing the stack while munching on cereal. she’d seen her writing letters throughout the day for months-on-end way too many times for her to still have hope.

“you don’t know that!” she abruptly said, briefly stopping to give her sister a look before returning to check for anything.

…

“well?”

she sighed and dropped the envelopes on the table, walking away in disappointment. “nothing. you were right. don’t get a big head about it.”

each step of the staircase felt heavier than the last, it wasn’t like she sent mail one or two times, there had been hundreds of attempts that were made. part of her felt like her sister was right, he’s a singer. how stupid to think that he’d read her letters out of thousands of them.

she plopped down on her bed and stared at the ceiling in wonder. did he not read any fan letters? was he even allowed to receive any? why was she still trying? her eyes wandered to the record player next to her, next to it was one of Michael’s albums.

“Michael, won’t you write me back?” she quietly mumbled to herself as she stared at the record longingly.

she had been a fan for as long as she could remember.

the Jackson family were no strangers to the Chicago area. there’d been dozens of performances they’d done in local bars and events. people in the city began to know them by name pretty quickly. the Jackson 5.

seeing Michael perform for the first time was a blur. the memory was faint, but she could still remember a few things here and there.

she remembers her aunt taking her and her cousins to an outside event. it was night time, the air was cool, and the audience sounded very excited.

considering she was only six years old, her height didn’t allow her to see very well. it took a lot of courage to wander around and squeeze through the crowd, but when she did, as if on cue, music began to play.

curiously, she looked up to see who was playing only to be immediately starstruck. it was like the music was hypnotizing her into watching.

there stood Michael, timing his moment to start. she had no clue what song they were covering, and once again the whole night was a blur, but there was one thing she for sure kept in mind. ‘Jackson 5’.

after that, she took every offer she got to attend their shows. didn’t matter who was taking her, she was showing up.

present day, she writes him a letter every time she thinks of him.

her friends thought it was a bit excessive and too much, her sister was also beginning to feel that way, but in her own perspective she saw no problem with it.

at the age of 10 someone made the terrible mistake of teaching her how mailing letters worked and began writing to everyone she knew, which led to her mailing the Jacksons. she found enjoyment in writing her support for them.

“don’t you wanna like boys from our school?” was something she’d often hear growing up if it wasn’t someone else who was head over heels over the brothers. she never understood why people would treat them as if they were untouchable.

initially, she actually didn’t write to Michael in the way that she does now. she doesn’t recall what exactly happened. maybe the teasing got to her, perhaps she just grew up, or maybe she’s always taken a liking for him and never realized it until now.

as of lately, she’s been rethinking the letters. mainly because of what they’ve turned into. her envelopes held stronger feelings inside of them, replacing the old support messages. the fear of losing herself in those emotions to someone that probably hasn’t even batted an eye to her letters was rising up, solutions needed to be made. that same day, she sent her last and final message, expressing herself while also indirectly saying that this was goodbye for now. she honestly felt relieved on her walk home. a reply wasn’t expected anyway.

Winter, 1974

“oh, god, it’s freezing!” the front door shut swiftly, bringing in some of the cold into the house. her mother glanced at her in acknowledgment from the kitchen and went back to stirring the pot.

“you’ve got mail right there on the counter.” she softly said and nodded at the countertop next to the occupied stove. mail? she hasn’t sent anything for a while now. she picked up the envelope to have a closer look at the name and was sent into shock. her heart fell to her stomach.

“who replied to you this time?” her mother cluelessly asked, more focused on her cooking than anything else but still caring to know.

“mom, did you seriously not read the name?? it’s…. I have to go!” without waiting for a response, she rushed upstairs to her room. no distractions, nobody asking anything, nothing. this was a moment.

she carefully handled the envelope as if it was the most valuable thing in her possession, making sure there were no creases or folds on her new treasured piece.

before opening the actual handwritten note she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, mentally preparing herself. and then, she unraveled it.

Dear You,

have you ever noticed that every love song contains the word “You”? like for example: “Oh How Happy You Have Made Me”, “Can I See You In The Morning?” or “The Love You Save.” so, that’s why I thought it would be alright to start this letter to you with “Dear You.” if it works in songs of love it ought to be right on for letters of love too, don’t you agree?

of course, there’s another reason, too. chances are we have never met. and maybe you are just starting to really get to know me through the pages and pictures or on TV.

you’re luckier than I am. I don’t even get to know the first thing about you, the girl I’m hoping to find someday . . . somehow, some way. I can’t even be sure you’re reading this, but I won’t lose hope. I will never stop looking for your face, in every audience I see before me, in every eager fan who waves and smiles to me. I’ll be waiting for you, will you wait, too?

I’ll Be There, — Michael

suddenly, there was a gleam of hope in her eyes. hope for what exactly? she didn’t really know yet, but she had a feeling this wouldn’t be the last time Michael would send her something.

there was something else on the note, something that almost went unnoticed. a phone number written upside down on the corner of the paper.

there was no way. in her mind, that had to be a manager’s number, anyone but his. she could either ignore it, or try to call…

[thriller-ghoul]

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥,

Chapter 3: Signed With All Your Love

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2

synopsis: as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, it's only natural to gain a massive fandom that admires you tremendously. with that being said, it also only makes sense that the gates of Havenhurst open wide to greet the loads of mail sacks every week. though staff often reviewed these letters briefly, Michael was still able to personally read and reply to them. mail consisted of paragraphs showing appreciation/support, love confessions, and gifts, the usual you'd find in fan mail. he did his best to reply in a heartfelt manner for each individual message. while in the backseat of his car, he stumbled across a letter sent from a fan that stood out like no other.

a/n: chapter 3 to this cheesy story! like I said last chapter, you’ll catch a lot of lyrics here. imo, this is the most interesting chapter out of all of them. special thanks to @fluorescentpoppy for staying tuned! I tried dragging this chapter out as much as possible because the original one was shorter than I remembered. chapter 4 is a special one, stay tuned! it’s also 2 am I didn’t proof read help.

“Michael, I love you.

I’ve held the tears back as long as I can.

I’m sealing my feelings in this envelope,

‘cause I wanna be more than just your number one fan.”

…

“I’m gonna answer your letter.”

with that, Michael quickly shoved every other card back into the bags, got up, and headed to a quiet place to think.

♫

he went outside to walk around his neighborhood with a pen and paper in hand. this was the time to replay the course of nearly two months. two months of reading this girl’s letters and thinking about her. he knew he had enough information to write what his mind truly thought.

he came to a stop near a bench and sat on it for hours on end. not planning his letter back yet, but instead reviewing all of the emotions he’d felt this whole time. was this just another fan dreaming or something more? because he knew he didn’t feel completely casual about all of this.

he also had to consider other things. like for example, was this even smart of him to do? after all, this is a fan. if Joseph found out he was entertaining this, let alone having it interfere with his focus during work, Joseph would take the matter into his own hands and deal with what mail Michael gets to see and what mail gets thrown out. that wouldn’t be fair to the other fans who just want to show love either.

this was a very difficult thing to consider. he needed to choose between whether or not he should keep it professional and reply in a regular ‘fan-service’ way, giving into her painted portrait of being with the lead singer of the Jackson 5, or give into his shared feelings. decisions decisions..

♬

7-something-p.m. comes around, nothing on his paper. how was he going to go about this? Michael began muttering his sentences into tunes.

“I’ll start, beginning with the ABC’s.. of loving you…”

he wrote on a whim, letting his emotions of the moment express himself with no limits. he figured the best way he could come up with something to write is to turn it into a song.

“-… your letter really touched my heart.”

“I’ve been dreaming of meeting the picture that you sent along…”

“.. signed with all your love.”

his pen glided smoothly, creating a proper letter back with no mistakes and everything he wanted to say included. he didn’t stop and think, he just wrote.

“ I hope to hear back from you once again.

— Michael Jackson “

he proudly held up the letter right in front of him and exhaled in relief.

“I’m gonna write you back, I promise you that.”

that didn’t end very well.

♫

weeks passed again and he still never sent the letter, making the waiting game longer for the person to hear back. for her to hear back.

he had to put the blame on (the boogie lmao) his work schedule that he has to live with day-to-day, but he’d also be lying if he said he wasn’t holding back on sending it.

that letter, although he wrote everything on it, nothing was being said. it felt fake. the song pun referencing ABC was basically screaming “hey, just so you know, it really IS Michael Jackson responding to you, the singer. you know, the one that sang ABC.”

he spent way too much time thinking about what to say that he just wrote anything because it was the adrenaline rush taking over. what felt like a flow state ended up being a whole bunch of nothing written.

maybe what was holding him back was the fact that the letter could be more personal than he should make it. but what made this letter different? all of his letters to fans were personal, he felt connected to them, so why did he feel like he couldn’t here? writing “I love you more” to a fan wasn’t new to him, it was even true to him, what’s stopping him?

nothing. nothing could stop him.

it was 1:37 in the morning, the sound of a ballpoint pen and paper crinkling being the only thing that filled the silence.

this time, he put some thoughts into his words. his idea was to make the fan feel special, but to also put some space between the two. unfortunately, he knew nothing would come out of this. there couldn’t be anything anyway.

there was some truth to his letter beneath the subtle fibs.

the fibs being that he couldn’t refer to the person by name, or else it’d be too personal to bring himself to write.

or writing that he didn’t ‘know’ her despite being well educated on her personality and interests

there was a loophole though, and he took it, hoping that the fan felt just as loved as he said he did. even if the letter was more vague than it was intended to be.

♬

routine went as usual. Michael had to get back on tour with his brothers soon, and it felt exhausting recently.

before he knew it, he spent the whole day discussing business and perfecting practices. he had even forgotten about the letter he was supposed to send.

that was until it was almost time to hit the road again. this was the worst way to suddenly remember that he had to pay the post office a visit. 3 months. 3 months of being aware about the mail. August to November consisted of him stalling. this had to be put to an end.

it was the evening before he had to get back on tour, 5 p.m. to be exact. he hurried his way out of the house and ran to Bill.

“hurry!” he shouted from afar, waving his envelope to gesture where he was trying to go. “hm?” Bill still stood there confused.

“hurry, Mr. Postman!” Michael chuckled as he slowed his tracks. Bill got the message and laughed along, opening the door for him before getting in the driver’s seat. “let’s go, kid.”

“I want to make it on time before they close. if I don’t send it now, I’ll never have this chance.” Michael said softly but desperately.

the time was 5:43, the post office closes at 6. will they make the cut?

[thriller-ghoul]

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥,

Chapter 2: I’m Gonna Answer Your Letter

Chapter 1

synopsis: as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, it's only natural to gain a massive fandom that admires you tremendously. with that being said, it also only makes sense that the gates of Havenhurst open wide to greet the loads of mail sacks every week. though staff often reviewed these letters briefly, Michael was still able to personally read and reply to them. mail consisted of paragraphs showing appreciation/support, love confessions, and gifts, the usual you'd find in fan mail. he did his best to reply in a heartfelt manner for each individual message. while in the backseat of his car, he stumbled across a letter sent from a fan that stood out like no other.

a/n: since this is song based, you’ll catch a lot of the lyrics here! pretty short chapter because I kinda wanna drag out the series just by a bit. I’ll likely upload chapter 3 in like 2 days after this one so that it’s not too long of a wait. CHEESY STORY WARNING

the entire week Michael kept finding these letters from the same person at random, you would’ve thought they were maybe obsessed or determined. Michael didn’t see it as either. he grew to learn the girl more. he could connect and feel the emotion radiating from her simplistic but genuine letters, his favorite one being:

“Dear Michael,

every time your record’s on, I close my eyes and sing along.

dreaming you’re singing to me.”

this didn’t seem like much, but to him it was one step closer to her. Michael was already at a personal connection with his fans, but what really drew him in about this specific note wasn’t just the fact that it sounded meaningful.

she added a picture of herself with the record mentioned, holding it with a smile and eyes closed, like the letter conveyed.

he had a name, he had an address, and now he had a face. now he just needed a response to give.

♫

with his scheduling in the way, it was nearly impossible to have time to thoughtfully curate a message back. however, there wasn’t a day he didn’t think about the letters and the delay. in fact, there wasn’t a day where he didn’t think about her.

the rest of the month was pretty busy, but he made sure to get to her letters when he could. it was easier now that they were separated from the usual pile. he’d find himself enjoying each small paragraph he’d receive progressively.

little sentences came with little facts about herself that interested him. she’d write about her day and what she’d do during it while also including the thought of him, and that was something that sparked a feeling in him.

he grew to like her as an individual that he now personally knew. it was obvious that the more the person wrote, the more comfortable the one sided conversations became, and Michael didn’t mind it. he loved hearing from fans no matter the topic. he just wanted people to talk to, and that’s what it seemed was happening here as well on both ends.

♬

eventually a few weeks had passed, and it was the usual routine of getting heavy mail sacks sent to his home. as soon as the last bag hit the floor, he didn’t wait for the staff to moderate it. He emptied all of the sacks out and rummaged through the scattered piles for a letter, package, anything from her. after a few minutes of actively searching, he finally found a letter that had the address he was looking for.

he beamed in joy and sat back next to one of his snakes against the couch. he turned to the snake with a smile, showing the envelope to it. “look, she wrote to me again.” a small giggle left his mouth before cheerfully opening it up. unexpectedly, the more he read the short entry, the more his smile would fade away.

“Michael, I love you.

I’ve held the tears back as long as I can.

I’m sealing my feelings in this envelope ‘cause I wanna be more than just your number one fan.”

…

“I’m gonna answer your letter”

with that, Michael quickly shoved every other card back into the bags, got up, and headed to a quiet place to think.

[thriller-ghoul]

𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐌𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐞𝐥,

Chapter 1: Dear Michael,

synopsis: as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, it’s only natural to gain a massive fandom that admires you tremendously. with that being said, it also only makes sense that the gates of Havenhurst open wide to greet the loads of mail sacks every week. though staff often reviewed these letters briefly, Michael was still able to personally read and reply to them. mail consisted of paragraphs showing appreciation/support, love confessions, and gifts, the usual you’d find in fan mail. he did his best to reply in a heartfelt manner for each individual message. while in the backseat of his car, he stumbled across a letter sent from a fan that stood out like no other.

a/n: this is a pretty short song inspired fic I came up with months ago, it was also the first Michael fic I made. I never finished it, but I figured that since the main fic I’m currently working on is gonna take another while, I might as well publish some that were scrapped. I finished it so that there’d be some content here. WARNING it is cheesy because it was a test fic LMAO. EDIT: there’s been a change with the year this takes place in only to fill in gaps.

Summer, 1974 - Encino, California

“where do you wanna go, Joker?” Bill asked as he seated himself behind the wheel.

“just drive around, Bill. I wanna take in the scenery today. it’s beautiful outside, look!” Michael turned his head to stare out the window in admiration. his gaze fixated on the sky and trees in a dream-like daze.

Bill chuckled and started the car. he knew how much Michael liked feeling the atmosphere outside. he knew how much he loved nature in general. Michael’s always had a whimsical view of the beautiful things in life.

pulling out of the driveway, you could hear the screams of fans from a distance behind the tall-standing gates. Michael flashed a smile and politely waved at the crowd as security tried shooing people out of the way.

once they were on their path to their late evening drive, Michael placed a stack of mail on his lap and began to go through each of the pieces carefully, giving every letter the same amount of undivided attention. he loved going through his mail. each message increased his gratitude more and more.

Michael had his own routine following this as well. he’d write back to them, expressing love ten times harder than the actual fan in appreciation for the support. that’s just how Michael was. he considered his fans ‘family’.

♫

about an hour or so had passed and it was already getting late. Michael had read through most of his stack. he figured he’d just continue on the next day.

while placing the stack back on the seat next to his, one of the letters fell from underneath. instinctively, Michael picked it up and was about to put it back where it was, but became intrigued by the different formatted envelope addressed to him.

it was a light yellow packaging, but it didn’t look like the typical yellow envelopes you receive. this shade looked identical to a banana pudding color. the lettering was unique and nicely put together, almost looking like calligraphy. to top it all off, a sunflower sticker was placed on the corner, which made him smile. drawn to the letter, he leaned back into his seat and opened the last letter of the night.

it read: Dear Michael,

you’ll probably never get this letter, Michael.

I wrote you a hundred times before.

knowing how I feel, I’ll write a hundred more.

puzzled, he put the paper down. he honestly started feeling a bit bad for not recognizing the fan’s attempts to contact him sooner. how come he’s never seen these before?

he rummaged through the rest of the letters in hopes of finding at least one more from the same person, but nothing was found.

that night, he looked at the letter for a final time before going to bed. he laid the letter on his nightstand and turned off his lamp. not even a second later, his eyes opened and stared at the ceiling in wonder. could he maybe be able to retrieve any of the past letters that he’s missed?

♬

the following morning, Michael informed staff who managed his fan mail about a specific name and address to look out for. he wanted to hear more from this person before replying.

not only that, but he even dug through past mail sacks to find old letters that the person was referring to. luckily enough, he found a few! unfortunately he couldn’t find all of them in the piles of thousands of postcards. he spent the rest of his morning and afternoon juggling between replying to other fans and work while also reading one letter from the supposed usual sender at a time.

“look Michael, your fans love you!” La Toya exclaimed happily as she looked over the mountains of envelopes. she scooted closer to him to skim over the letter he was currently on.

Michael laughed along and handed her the note. “they’re not my fans, they’re part of my family.” he turned his head to scan the filled room, then he sighed. his eyes went back to the note and pointed at it.

“I want you to read that.” she mumbled an “alright” and began to read. after about a minute, she gave it back with a small giggle. “that’s very kind.”

Michael rolled his eyes playfully and giggled along, taking the letter back. “yeah, I haven’t replied yet.”

“well I didn’t expect you to, you just opened it!”

“Toy, that was from two months ago. they’ve been sending me letters this whole time and I’ve just been sitting here not noticing them.” he stressed. she could tell that he was feeling some type of way about that and probably imagining how the person must feel.

“don’t think of it like that, one letter back can make a difference.” she smiled reassuringly, rubbing his arm before getting up and leaving the room. Michael’s eyes went back to the paper and sighed once again.

[thriller-ghoul]

༺⏾༻ masterlist

ONE-SHOTS:

Carousel

SERIES:

Dear Michael, - Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

MOODBOARDS:

Carousel

[thriller-ghoul]

Carousel Moodboard

~ Carousel ~

♤ ♡ ⋆｡‧🎠 ༘⋆°•⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆🎪⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆ ♧ ♢

[thriller-ghoul]

~ Carousel ~

⋆｡‧🎠 ༘⋆° I lost my heart on the carousel to a circus girl…⋆｡‧

⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆🎪⋆｡𖦹°⭒˚｡⋆

𖤐 𖦹 Thriller era Michael 𖦹 𖤐

♤ summary ♢ : Michael’s in love with one of his colleagues at the carnival. the problem? she pays no mind to him.

♡ disclaimer ♧ : angst — this is all lyric based !! this is also my first published fic here so bare with me, enjoy ! there’s a Paul McCartney and Quincy mention just cause lmao, they can be part of the au too.

— October, 1983 🎈

the annual carnival, what a time to be alive.

pony rides for a dime, little children laughing,

it was a place to be.

this was the perfect job for Michael. he absolutely adored playing the role of a clown. he got to entertain, he loved children, and he overall enjoyed the atmosphere of a place that brought joy to many.

visitors at the carnival loved Michael, or more so, they loved ‘Joker’. Joker was Michael’s clown persona. families gathered around to watch him juggle, play instruments, or even make them balloon animals. he was one of the fan favorites in the place, and when you’re a fan favorite, the carnival directors do everything in their power to keep you to bring in more revenue.

and with that, he sees other colleagues of his that are brought back frequently for their iconic acts. one person in particular was one he saw the most.

————————————————————————

she's from a world of popcorn and candy.

he however, was from a world of disappointment and confusion.

he's a clown, and she was a dancer.

he knew it wouldn't work, but he wanted to take his chances.

the circus in the carnival was the main attraction. Michael saw this girl the most because she was the lead dancer. she had the highest pay and demand out of every other performer. the audience was infatuated. no one knew her name, but they knew a few things off of surface knowledge: she was beautiful, her stage presence flawless, and she had perfect chemistry with everybody she performed with.

by 'everyone', that meant everyone but Joker. she was paired to dance around many different acts. lion tamers, tightrope walkers, magicians, elephant handlers,.. he wanted a chance too! if anything, he wanted the opportunity the most.

"I just don't understand it, Paul... Q told me I was the best clown he's ever hired. is it because you have multiple roles that you got paired with her for tonight's show? what do I have to do?”

Paul took a swig of his water and shook his head. "Michael, you're thinking much too deeply about this. it's not about the amount of positions you take. that lion tamer guy's gotten like 4 shows with her already, you should probably talk to Quincy about this one."

Michael nodded thoughtfully and took a long sip of his orange juice. he sat there pondering his next move.

the next evening Michael got a hold of Quincy, one of the circus directors. he was talking to what seemed to be one of the next potential head performers for the production later before Michael stepped in.

"Quincy, I have something I want to talk about."

Quincy looked over at him and quickly glanced at the contortionist he was speaking to, giving a 'I'll talk to you later' face. "yes Michael?" he fully turned to face him, his expression calm with his arms being crossed.

"I need to be an important figure in tonight’s show.”

Quincy raised an eyebrow and slightly tilted his head. Michael knew how this sounded, so suddenly that it was a bit odd.

“listen, I think that it’d be a huge thing if the audience saw more favorite acts collaborating together.” he stayed silent for a moment to see if he had to further explain.

“I’m not asking to be the headliner tonight but.. I guess what I’m asking is if I could perform during the dancing session. everyone else’s gotten to do so and it’s been successful on all parts. I really think this could be something.”

luckily, this reasoning was what got Quincy to think about it. he nodded approvingly. “yeah, I’ll see what I can pull.”

Michael smiled. “alright. thanks, Q.” it was settled, Joker was going to get a taste of what it’s like to have her attention.

*ੈ🎡

7:30 rolled around, the sky was getting darker and the lightbulbs around the circus tents were getting brighter. it was showtime.

aerobatics, equilibristics, the usual were the first to go on stage. after that, it was his time.

he wasn’t as nervous as he thought he’d be. he walked on the platform and was confident enough that after this, he’d have way more gigs than he used to. he knew how to entertain, he just had to make this girl amused with it too.

he didn’t need to rehearse with her. all of it was improv, he just knew how to keep up. dancing told stories, what else tells stories? mimes. he wasn’t a mime, but he could definitely play off as one.

as Quincy was promised, the audience absolutely ate this up. Quincy quickly stopped Michael backstage after their segment.

“Michael, Michael, phenomenal thing with the unicycle.” Michael giggled and looked down shyly. “I was supposed to juggle for longer.”

“yeah well great work. I’ll be sure to add you in more shows.” he patted his shoulder and walked off. Michael was pretty proud of how tonight went, now he knew there was a bigger opportunity to perform more with who he was eyeing.

there she was, across the room, getting powder patted on her face. he stared from the reflection of the vanity. this was his chance to talk to her. he had to do it fast, she was already getting up.

“it was great performing with-!”

she kept on walking.

he stood still for a second, dumbfounded, watching her disappear into the crowd.

it was pretty hurtful at the moment, and what was worse was that it happened again their next show.

at some point, enough had to have been enough. why Michael kept trying on her specifically was something he didn’t even know himself, but he wanted her to be his.

♤

a week passed, he knew their next scheduled act was going to be the same story. instead of going up to her after the fact, what does he do? he outshines himself and her on stage, pulling out tricks on a whim that he’s never done successfully, but somehow he managed to with the adrenaline rushing through him.

that was for sure going to get her to say something.

♡

"Joker, was it? I don't believe we've met." she slowly smiled.

he raised an eyebrow but returned the smile. "properly you mean? we've worked together three times now.." he awkwardly chuckled. was she seriously that clueless of his existence? maybe it wasn't personal, she's collaborated with tons of people by now.

"hm, yeah.." she eyed him up and down and smiled once more.

he could sense her about to leave, he immediately called out (though she was right there), "-can I buy you popcorn?? across the uh.. street?..." god, why was this embarrassing.

a small giggle escaped her mouth, one that reminded him why he was doing this. "sure."

"...great." he sighed in relief and grinned widely, feeling more confident.

♧

they stopped by a vintage popcorn cart and stood by it silently. she was a really vague person. Michael didn't want to believe the fact that she could potentially be uninterested. what could he bring up as a conversation starter?..

"y'know, I never really see you all that much outside of the circus tent. you always seem to disappear." he munched on his snack, eyes gazing down at her face.

she shrugged and nodded. she seemed to have a calm vibe, was she not interested or really just not talkative?

"I have lots of things scheduled in one day."

Michael hummed in acknowledgement. that made sense, she was a pretty popular dancer.

she sighed and her eyes wandered around, kind of bored. Michael was close to giving up, and then..

gasp

"oh look, a carousel!!" she jumped in excitement and pointed. Michael beamed up too. "you like carousels too??" he asked cheerfully, quickly following her to it right behind her.

as the notes of the calliope started, smooth plastic horses rode up and down, the lights flashing to the beat of the music, the sound of laughter being another part of the noise.

after a few more turns, she started warming up to him. all that was needed was some time outside of their jobs.

"so Joker,"

"Michael."

she giggled. "Michael,.. what made you be part of a carnival crew?"

he looked up at the sky thoughtfully as he slowed down his steps.

"well, I really love working with children. I also enjoy entertaining people. I find it wonderful to bring smiles to millions of faces."

"...and?"

"..and what?"

"well your tone seems like there's more to that."

Michael's face faltered and he hung his head low. "yeah."

...

"I use this job to catch up on all things lost from my childhood. this is the one place where it's excusable to be playful at all times. I didn't get to have that growing up. seeing kids have fun makes me happy, and I'm glad I get to join them."

the unnamed dancer nodded understandingly and looked down as well.

"I get it. I've been dancing for as long as I can remember"

Michael chuckled, diverting the sorrowful mood back to normal.

"I guess that's why you're so good, huh?" he raised his brows at her, she laughed along.

silence filled the air, but it was comfortable.

they returned their path to the main area of the carnival, lights turning off one by one and the employees preparing to go home.

"..I better go now. I share a ride with my team."

he stopped his tracks, facing her now. "alright, get home safely. I didn't catch your name by the way?"

she shook her head, letting a last giggle slip out. "that's a secret for another day."

he grinned in amusement. "so you get to see me be vulnerable and I still have to solve you."

"yep! bye Michael."

"goodnight..."

he stayed behind, watching her fade away into the distance.

two different people

and he was in love for an instant.

but little did he know he wouldn't see her for another month.

♢

tonight was the last night of the carnival being in town, things flew by the same everyday, on the outside though. internally, Michael's heart broke into smaller pieces by the days. the evening prior to this was the one time he saw her again, and she avoided him completely.

he didn't understand why. again, he didn't want to believe she wasn't interested, but it would've been a hell of a lot easier if she just outright said that.

he finished his last performance, kicking imaginary pebbles every step of the way to his seat. he plopped down tiredly and got out of his costume to reveal his regular outfit underneath. all he could focus on was leaving.

he wasn't entirely depressed the whole month, he had his usual routine of having fun with happy families. however, that was during the daytime. nighttime reminded him of that one memory. the memory that made him wonder if there was really a girl or just his imagination. sometimes he could even hear her calling him over the sound of the calliope. once the lights would turn off and the music shut down, his painted smile would droop.

he wandered off and returned to where he started. he sat on a concrete bench next to one of the circus elephants, hoping to gain comfort from being in someone's presence. the loneliness was too much to bear.

his eyes darted up, there she was.

her team packing up,

and her giggling flirtatiously with the elephant handler.

his hand in hers,

leading him to the carousel they once shared.

his eyes lowered in somber, making his pierrot face paint complete.