c_j_bubbles
In 1977, sixteen-year-old Maddy Prescott meets Michael Jackson in the crowded dark of Studio 54-and fails to recognize him.
To Maddy, he is simply Mike: observant, guarded, unexpectedly funny, and wearing a hat she considers unforgivable. To Michael, she is one of the few people who speaks to him without wanting anything from the name he carries.
A telephone call becomes another. Friendship deepens through late-night conversations, distance, and the rare relief of being understood. But Michael's fame is growing, Maddy belongs to a world governed by reputation, and neither of them is ready to name what is beginning between them.
Set between 1977 and 1979, In the Shadows of the Spotlight is a slow-burn Michael Jackson fanfiction about friendship, first love, fame, secrecy, and the private life hidden behind a public name.
This is a fictionalised work inspired by real historical events. Maddy Prescott and all private relationships and conversations involving her are fictional.