Ever Victorious (A Michael Jackson Tale)

Plans and Promises

Maria's P.O.V

I was woken up by my reflexes pulling me subconsciously into the bathroom to be sick.

What a way to start off the day I didn't want to ever arrive. I flushed the toilet and slumped onto the floor, trying to get my thoughts straight.

I wasn't sitting there long before I heard a knock on the door.

"M? You okay in there?" Roxanne seemed really concerned for once.

I got off the floor and let her in, my limbs shaking with the effort.

"I'll be alright in a minute" She came and sat by me and gave me a hug.
"I'm worried too M, but we can't let Craig or Jed get the better of us" My mind slammed to the thought of him and his threat, and the fact that they were probably watching the both of us that very moment.

Then I did feel sick, but not in the same way as I had a few minutes before.

"Rox, I... I'm scared. Promise me that this plan of yours will work" She only gave me a weak smile in response.

I could lose the love of my life and I only had Roxanne's unconvincing confidence as a comfort.

Michael's P.O.V

I rarely had dreams but that night all I could see was Maria's perfect face floating in front of my eyes until I fell asleep.

I woke up in my hotel room and I had never felt so disappointed to find the space next to me empty.
I needed to see her again before I went to my press conference that afternoon. Spending some quality time with her would help me out with how I was going to face the cameras and tell them about us for everyone to hear.
She had said that the press didn't bother her if it didn't bother me, but I was bothered by it, every day was a constant battle to fend off speculations and keep the perfect image. One slip and they laughed as they watched you fall while capturing every moment to exaggerate later.
I just hoped that she was as strong as she made out.

Most of all, I was concerned about what the problem was that I sensed before. Was it because she was stressed about us? Or Destiny? I didn't know much about women's emotions, so I couldn't be sure whether it was just the obvious that was bothering her.
Either way I wasn't going to find out any time soon. She had opened up to me before so I knew that if she wanted me to know about it, she would have told me.

I shook my head as I realised how possessive I sounded. Maria was her own person, I had no right to know about her personal life. But she was becoming such a significant part of mine, it would soon be impossible to keep things from each other.
I wanted to make things as official as I could, but not just because I had been told to do so, I started to really want the world to know who I loved.

I crossed to my dresser and saw the little box I had ordered when I left the hospital the day before. I hadn't just gone straight to my hotel, it was too packed with fans. So I decided to take a detour to the nearest jewellers.

If this was going to be official, I wanted to make sure that it was going to be forever. My plan was to protect her at all costs, and the only way I could was to have her as close to me as I could.

I ran through the words I was going to say as I drove to her place, just as if I was going to make a speech. It was in a way, and probably the most significant speech I would ever make in my whole life.

Maria's P.O.V

I had been pacing the room to try and keep myself occupied until Michael arrived. It was like waiting for a tragedy only you knew was going to happen.