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( CHAPTER FIVE: REMEMBER THE TIME PT. 2 ) January, 1992
❝ I'm devon emmet baby, I run this shit! ❞
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Janet's long lashes fluttered in the sunlight as she lounged on her cushiony bed, her eyes floating across the paper that had her lyrics scribbled on the page. She mumbled the words back to herself, knowing that she had to get certain words to match the beat that Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis made. Through countless nights of late night studio sessions, Janet felt ready to share a new side of herself to her fans.
"Jan, where are you?" A voice called from the marble hallway, and Janet glanced up, momentarily knocked out of her dreary daze. When Janet's doe-eyes looked towards the large doorframe, she saw her friend Nikki galloping into the room. She had warm brown skin, a long head of thick curly hair and a piete figure that was blessed with a slender waist and thicker hips.
Although Janet still had a wider set of thighs, the pop star felt nice hanging around a woman who owned the fact that she had a curvaceous figure—something that Janet felt terribly insecure about. Tina was the one who introduced Nikki to Janet, and mentioned that she was a very talented, up and coming dancer with a whole lot of flair.
When the two grew to be friends, Janet kindly let Nikki live with her so that she could have some time to find a more permanent place to stay. Nikki graciously accepted the offer, and the singer enjoyed being in Nikki's bright, bubbly presence everyday, feeling as though she needed a friend during this time.
"You writing again?" Nikki asked, dressed in a pair of denim shorts, ankle boots and a crop top which showed off her defined stomach muscles wondrously. "Girl, you know it," Janet grinned, her hand playing with the fresh braids that she got done a few days prior. It was in preparation for the new movie she would be filming about an inner city girl, and Janet had to admit, she was incredibly excited to start acting again.
"Wanna go shopping today?" Nikki asked, popping a stick of gum in between her full lips. "Sorry, I promised I'd visit Mike on set, but you we can go this afternoon," Janet suggested, smacking her songwriting book closed as her friend gave her beaming grin.
"Alright, I'm down wit' that!" Nikki exclaimed, her swanky voice a direct result of her upbringing in South Central. "I gotta go, I'll see you later," Janet said, slipping off her bed and grabbing the nearest jacket, wanting to arrive on the set of Michael's video fairly early, just so that she could see all the magic unfold.
So, the pop star threw one last smile over to her friend before she headed out the door, ready to marvel at whatever Michael had planned.
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Janet expected to arrive to a busy set, buzzing with assistants, camera men and catering services. However, to her surprise, when she pulled into the Universal Studios parking lot, it was dead quiet. As the pop star strolled over to the soundstage that Michael told her he'd be shooting at, she was ridden with disbelief when none of the crew members were there.
