{Thriller era – 1983}.

There she was, standing on the thick green grass, her eyes locked on mine. Her golden curls were floating on the gentle breeze in the air, her blue eyes matching the darkening sky perfectly. She had rouged lips, but other than that, she was completely natural-looking. Her short, vividly-coloured dress had not a single crease in it, and her sparkling flats were reflecting the light from the ride I was sitting on – the carousel.

My hands clutched tightly to the carousel horse's golden handlebars, my heart beating rapidly in awe of this beautiful girl that was gazing at me. My mouth was growing dry; my breathing was so light, yet still my breaths managed to rid all signs of moistness from my tongue and the roof of my mouth.

Then, she made slow footsteps towards the carousel. With each inch she came closer, my heart pounded with a quicker pace. She was simply incredible, and it was easy to imagine me and her on a sandy beach together, or sharing a cute picnic in Neverland.

My black curls were blown gently backwards by the breeze, but I kept my stare fixed on the girl. She was now walking around the carousel, to find a vacant spot, which made me hope and pray that she would find one near to me. She searched until she found another horse – right next to mine, then as she sat upon it and adjusted her dress, butterflies filled my stomach.

Her eyes met mine once more, but this time, a faint smile tugged at her lips. An embarrassingly large smile was fighting its way onto my face, but my pride and dignity forced it away as I returned a casual smile. My smile must have amused her in some way, because after, her faint smile became a small grin, which sent more butterflies fluttering around my stomach.

The carousel slowly began to move, so I made sure my grip on the handlebars was even tighter than it already was. Gradually increasing speed, my tongue slid over my lips to moisten them; the dryness had vanished now that the ride had partially taken my mind off the beauty that was sitting beside me.

Slowly but surely, as the ride became quicker, my mind managed to focus on the ride, rather than the girl. A wide grin spread across my face as more pleasure began to invade my senses, from the childish glee I was feeling. It had been forever since I felt carefree – or even just free in general. But at this moment, I was feeling on top of the world, just sitting on a carousel.

All of a sudden, I felt a hand touch mine, bringing me back to reality. As I turned my head to see who the hand belonged to, I found the girl, giving me a shy smile, which melted my heart completely.

"I love this," she told me, as my hand properly took hers.

"I love it, too." My voice was somewhat weaker than normal, but I assumed it was because we were on a ride that was in motion, "And ... you look beautiful."

"Thank you," she answered, showing me her smile once more, "I have to say you're looking mighty fine too, Mr Jackson."

"You know me?" I questioned quickly, furrowing my eyebrows in curiosity.

"Of course I do," she giggled quietly, "Did you forget that you're Michael Jackson, the most famous entertainer to ever exist?"

In all honesty, if she hadn't have said that, I would have forgotten then and there who I was. My mind was so full of my thoughts on this girl, that I forgot my own identity until she reminded me.

My cheeks warmed up a little in embarrassment, but due to the darkness of the sky, I assumed she couldn't see me blushing, "Of course," I responded after a few moments silence, "But sometimes beautiful things make me forget who I am."

She snickered, biting her lip, as she looked out at the rotating scenery that surrounded us. She drew a breath, before returning her gaze to me.

"Say, next time, we should go in a carriage together," she offered sweetly.

With a nod of my head, I agreed to her suggestion. A few moments went by, when there was a silence between us – but then, I felt the carousel coming to a stop, which brought me out of my crazy rush of thoughts about ... her.

Once the ride was no longer in motion, the riders began to climb off. Standing up, I gestured to the operator of the ride to tell him I wanted the ride closing for the night to all the guests of Neverland – apart from me and the girl. I wanted it to be just me and her, so I could get to know her a little better.

The girl got off her horse too, and we both made our way over to a carriage – which could fit up to five people in. The one we got in was red, with gold safety bars and silver glitter adorning it. The number '58' was written in gold on the back, to signify my birth year.

"Now ... " I started, subtly edging closer to the girl, "Maybe we can get to know one another a little better." My arms were propping my body up either side of me, whilst my back leant fully against the seat, "So ... what's your name?"

"My name's Tasha," she introduced at long last, "And it's an honour to meet you tonight, Mr Jackson." She bit her lip once more, seemingly trying to contain her excitement at the notion she was talking to me, "So, how long have you had Neverland?"

I then went into thinking mode, "Not long," I spoke softly, "Maybe four months," I calculated, "So you're one of the first people to come visit. Do you feel special?" I teased, to get her reaction.

A small, beautiful laugh came from her lips, "Yes, I do, Mr Jackson. I do feel special – especially being the only one on this carousel with you right now."

Feeling more comfortable around her now, my arm slowly coiled around her shoulder, to bring her closer to me, "Please, call me Michael; Mr Jackson is my father." She then noticed what my arm was doing, so I withdrew it from her shoulder, "I'm sorry. I just thought it was cold out here tonight," I lied.

She took my hand, guiding my arm back to where it was, around her, "No, I like it. Keep it there."

I gave a small nod, realising that the ride was now in motion once again. As it got quicker, a bigger rush of excitement flowed through me – like an adrenaline rush. Maybe it was Tasha who was causing it, or perhaps it was the atmosphere surrounding us. I had no idea, but whatever it was, I was enjoying it immensely.

*

After hours of riding on the carousel, it came close to 2:00am. The ride operator was growing tired; he had already fallen asleep a couple times just waiting for me to stop the ride, but the loud music blaring around Neverland eventually woke him up each time.

"It's getting late," Tasha stated, climbing out of the carriage, me following after, "But it's been the best night of my life. It's honestly been amazing for me, Michael. Thank you."

Once we were off the ride, we stood opposite one another on the grass, which looked multicoloured due to the lights from the carousel shining on it. A warm smile came to my face as my eyes locked on hers.

"The pleasure's been all mine, Tasha," I replied, my voice deeper than normal, "You're a beautiful woman, in and out."

My hand reached up, and my fingers brushed lightly against her face, moving upwards to her blonde curls. I gently tucked a lock behind her ear, before my other arm took her carefully by the waist, pulling her closer to me. She didn't protest at this, so I continued to stare into her perfect eyes.

A sudden urgency told me to be more bold, brave – so I didn't ignore that urgency. Slowly, I leaned in closer to her, feeling her warm breath mingle with my own. Then, our lips met, as we gave one another a simple kiss. However, I wasn't quite satisfied with that simple peck, so I went in for another kiss – a more intense, romantic kiss.

Obviously feeling the same adrenaline rush as me, she speedily wrapped her arms around my neck, automatically bringing my body closer to hers as the kiss went on. All too soon, our lips separated, but then our eyes met again, and we exchanged surprisingly timid glances.

Tasha's expression suddenly became apprehensive, "It's been great meeting you, Michael, but I can't do this," she said calmly, before dashing off.

My eyes followed her silhouette as she disappeared out of sight, and once she had, a feeling of sadness washed over me. What couldn't she do? Maybe it was the idea of being in a relationship with Michael Jackson.

But why couldn't she do that? Despite only knowing her for a night, I was now so hopelessly in love with her, that I couldn't remove her face from my mind; it was engraved – her beautiful eyes; golden curls; full, rouged lips ... just her.

Would she ever come back? I couldn't say that she would. How stupid I was, to have fallen for her.

I guess I lost my heart ... on the carousel ... to a circus girl ... who ran away ...

... And even today, she still hasn't returned.

~~

I know it was kind of a pointless story. I just heard Carousel on repeat for an hour straight, and it gave me inspiration so ... I wanted to write this. Hehe. Much L.O.V.E. ❤️