SWEETHEART • MJ [ORIGINAL]

Fourteen.

STAYING WITH MICHAEL was a dream come true for Ariah. Coming from a wealthy family herself, the young girl was used to staying in a luxurious setting. Yet, Michael's penthouse was so spectacular that the young girl was mesmerized from the moment she walked in. She loved it and she slept in a smaller room down the hall from his own master bedroom.

All night, Ariah wondered what Michael was doing in his room. She wondered if he went straight to sleep or if he had any bedtime routines. Her sleep was pretty sweet, for the most part. Typically, Ariah was an early riser. What she didn't know was that Michael was also an early riser. She quickly found that out when she decided to creep down the hall and peek into his bedroom around four in the morning. The light was on and seated on the majestic King-sized bed was Michael Jackson himself.

"Oh," Ariah smiled softly. "Good morning."

Michael looked up from a book that he was reading, somewhat startled. He started to blush. "Good morning, sweetheart."

"You're up early." Ariah pointed out, seeing that the sun was just coming up.

"You're up early." Michael winked at the young girl. "I get up early everyday, it's nice."

"Same." Ariah shrugged, looking around. "Your bedroom is beautiful."

"Come in, come in." Michael warmly invited her into his room. "Sit on my bed with me. I'm just reading."

"Oh." Ariah smiled, not knowing what was happening. She was starting to get nervous as she sat on the bed's edge carefully. "What are you reading?"

"Move closer.."

Ariah inched closer to Michael and he was just amused, watching her scoot closer to him. She was obviously shy and Michael thought it was adorable.

"Um, okay..." She blushed deeply and Michael ended up moving closer to the girl, since she wasn't where he wanted her. Ariah was literally shaking and Michael noticed that, still thinking she was extremely cute.

"Are you alright?" Michael asked, wrapping his arm around Ariah. "You're shaking."

"Yeah." She nodded quickly. "So, what are you reading?"

"This." The entertainer held up the novel he was reading. "The Blacker The Berry."

"Is it good?"

"Do you want me to read it to you?"

"If you'd like, you don't have to if you don't want.." Ariah spoke uneasily, not wanting to cause him any trouble. She was already embarrassed at the fact that they were laying in his bed together.

"It's no problem, sweetheart." He smiled and pressed a soft kiss to her temple, making her blush like crazy. "I promise."

"Read." Ariah snuggled closer to Michael, warming up to him rather quickly.

"Demanding much, but okay." Michael laughed and began to read to Ariah. She was listening for about a minute and the story was aesthetic, but she wasn't feeling it. She just listened to the sound of Michael's voice and her heart was melting.

"What do you think of that?"

"Of?" Ariah asked, seeing that Michael had asked a random question. Though, the question wasn't random. He had just read an entire chapter of The Blacker The Berry to her and she was just focused on the sound of his voice.