Being with Michael: Part 1 (Book Two)

Chapter Fifty One

Paige sits in the driver's seat of the Mercedes with the keys in the ignition and the engine already running. She looks at the empty passenger seat and then glances at the clock on the dashboard and it reads 3:59. Her lip starts to quiver because she knows what this means, but she quickly composes herself. She presses her foot on the brake and shifts the car into drive.

Michael leans against the counter in the kitchen with his head down. He glances at the clock on the microwave and watches as the time changes from 3:59 to 4:00. Even though his head tells him not to, his body overrides his thoughts and he releases his grip from the counter. He walks toward the back door of the house leading to the driveway, unsure about whether he's going to regret this decision later.

Paige releases her foot from the brake to press on the accelerator when the passenger door suddenly opens. She slams her foot back against the brake in surprise. Michael sits down in the seat and closes the door. He gives her a quick look, but then looks forward out the front windshield. Silently, Paige turns her head forward and presses down on the accelerator to start moving the car, trying to hide the smile appearing on her face. Normally, she would probably suggest Michael dress a little more like he did during Bad to blend in with the crowd, but she's just glad he even chose to come.

A couple minutes into the drive, Paige merges onto the highway. She knows there's a while left to go before they near Ron's garage, so she decides to play the CD in the player to avoid the awkward silence. The CD is homemade, so "Is It Scary" is the first song that plays. She knows this probably isn't the best song considering their situation, but Paige decides to make the best of it.

The beat starts and Paige goes with it, singing in a low octave, "There's a ghost out in the hall, there's a ghoul beneath the bed, now it's coming through the walls, now it's coming down the stairs."

She sees Michael reach out to turn off the player in the corner of her eye, but she quickly reaches out and blocks his hand as she just turns the volume up higher. If we're already in this mess, then what the hell is it going to hurt? Paige thinks.

She catches back up with the song in time to sing, "I'm going to be, exactly what you want to see, it's you who's haunting me, you're warning me, to be the stranger, in your life."

Michael just sits in the passenger seat listening to her, but not joining in with the singing or anything. He just wants to hear her sing, because he's actually curious since he's only heard her sing so low that it was almost a hum. So far, she's actually doing good, which honestly surprises him. Lisa would never do anything like this, he thinks.

Paige continues singing as she drives, "Am I amusing you, or just confusing you, am I the beast you visualized, and if you want to see eccentricities, I'll be grotesque before your eyes. Let them all materialize!"

She can imagine how she would perform this song if she were on stage, creating the choreography in her head as it goes along. She can also imagine how she would have her makeup and her outfit to resemble an almost goth vibe mixed with a sexy rocker look.

Then she pushes the volume up even higher so it's almost blaring when she starts belting out, "Is that scary for you baby? Am I scary for you? Is it scary for you baby? Is it scary for you? You know the stranger is you! Is it scary for you baby?"

Holy shit, Michael thinks. She can pull off the rocker voice!

The songs slows down as the piano plays out and Paige takes her breath. When the next verse begins, she doesn't sing, because she's already proven her point. She just lets them listen to the rest of the track and she continues to make up the choreography in her mind.