unethical | michael jackson
pairing: michael x singer!reader
word count: 16,0k
summary: where michael takes y/n and everything she does for him for granted until it’s too late
a/n: this is inspired by ‘unethical’ by faouzia, one of my favourite songs! if you don’t know her yet, i highly recommend checking her out <3 this will definitely not be the last fic based on one of her songs hihi. this is the longest fic i’ve ever written and i’m insanely proud of it so please give it some love (but proceed with caution!) <3
warnings: angst, love bombing (kinda), toxic relationship, michael being toxic (he doesn’t realize he is), emotional extortion, jealousy, gaslighting, reader not standing up for herself, unhealthy co-dependency, mentions of painkillers, substance abuse, mentions of pregnancy, slightly suggestive content, mentions of suicide, mentions of cheating (he kisses another woman)
“So, after many years away, you’re finally back on tour. What drove you to go back on stage?”, the interviewer asks with interest, wearing a smile that looks very forced. Later, she will undoubtedly twist your words, place them in a different context, and use them against you.
You have years of experience with this, so you put on your best smile, too. “Where should I start?”
1984
You first met Michael at the 1984 Grammy Awards. Your paths crossed for the first time on the very night he won a staggering eight awards. Of course, you knew who he was. Who didn’t back then? Thriller was that album. Everyone was talking about it. Michael Jackson was everywhere: on the radio, on televisions, on magazine covers. It felt almost surreal to be in a room with so many famous people – David Bowie, Lionel Richie, Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder, to name a few. As a singer yourself, you had been invited because you were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female. It was your first song to hit the charts so being nominated felt impossible to believe.