June's point of view

As I slammed the alarm clock on my nighstand at the second it rang, I joyfully hopped out of bed, turning the radio on, dancing all around the appartment while it was only eight in the morning. It was my first time sleeping on my own in my new home, and I had the best night of sleep I ever had. At first, it was hard for me to find some sleep, and I just kept tossing and turning for a good couple of hours before I finally fell asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about Michael and how badly I wanted to feel his arms securely wrapped aroud my waist from the moment I stepped in the shower when he left, until the moment I fell alseep. Someone once said that you know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality becomes better than your dreams, and this is true. There was a time in my life where I was longing to go to bed just because I knew Michael would be in my dreams, and that everything would be just perfect. Well, most of the time. I found myself having nightmares about him, and what could happen to him. But now, the dreams I had about him just seem to be reality, and I couldn't be happier about it.

As I was dancing around the kitchen on U Can't Touch This by MC Hammer, with nothing but my underwears on, I tried to make myself some champ's breakfast before my dancing instructor arrives. I poured myself a glass of orange juice, singing my heart out in the process, and made myself some scrambled eggs, some toasts with jam on it, all of this with a cup of black coffee.

I turned the volume up until my ears could take it, and began rapping over MC's voice while putting jam on my toasts.

"Fresh new kicks, and pants
You gotta like that, now you know you wanna dance

So move, outta your seat
And get a fly girl and catch this beat
While it's rolling, hold on –"

"Damn it!" I yelled, as my toast fell down on the floor (on the jam's side, of course). "Fuck it," I shrugged, and continued dancing and singing again, ignoring the toast on the floor for the moment.

I put my scrambled eggs in a plate, and didn't bother sitting down to have a proper breakfast. I just kept dancing around, singing with my mouth full of food. I was full of joy and excitement for this new day to start, because I knew it would be perfect at the second I'd have the chance to be with my family and with Michael. I was also excited at the idea of my meeting in Santa Barbara in the afternoon. This meeting was acutally kind of a job interview for the Nous Models agency. They offered me a job as a recruitement consultant, but also as a manager for new and young models. I really think this is something I was supposed to do after my job for Chanel. I thought about it, and I came to understand that I had to do it: relay what Karl taught me to newbies. This is what I did with Charlie, Chanel's new muse, and I was happy to do so. However, in addition to that, of course I'll found myself other things to do. Being a model has become a huge part in my life, and I love what I do. I won't stop posing or doing shows anytime near soon.

I finished my... turbulent breakfast after fifteen minutes, and I cleaned up the mess I did, including cleaning my wasted toast from the ground, and headed back to my bedroom's bathroom. I put my hair in a high messy ponytail, and began my morning routine by brushing my teeth. The radio was still broadcasting music throughout the place, and it was now Dancing On The Ceiling by Lionel Richie. I tired to sing the lyrics, but my – still awful – singing was more mumbles than acutal words, which caused me to laugh at myself while looking at myself in the mirror. I couldn't help but move my body to the beat of this song.

While brushing my teeth, I went to my walk-in closet and rummaged through my clothes to find my black yoga pants, a sports bra, a white oversized t-shirt that stopped just before my belly button, and some fresh and clean underwears. As I was about to go back to the bathroom to put my toothbrush back down, I was stopped dead in my tracks by the ringing of my doorbell. I looked at the clock that hung on the wall of my room and frowned. It was only 8:30AM, and my dance teacher was suppoed to be there at nine. I began panicking a little, and made my way to the door, but realized halfway there that I was still in my underwears. I slapped my forehead at the realization of my stupidity, and ran back to my bedroom where I fastly put my black dress from the previous night back on. I ran to the front door where the person let me know they became slightly impatient by the continuous rings on my door.

"Coming!" I yelled, mumbling through the loud music, still my toothbrush in my mouth.

I frowned at myself, and took the toothbrush out of my mouth for a few seconds before putting it back in. I shook my head. "Did I wake up high or something today?" I asked myself, rolling my eyes. "You're high on hapiness, dude," my consicous whispered back, which caused my stomach to flutter at the simple thought of the reason of this happiness of mine.

When I finally opened the front door, Pit was standing there with a bouquet of flowers in his giant hands, and I smiled up at him.

"Do you always open the door with a toothbrush in your mouth?" he asked me, laughing. "And what is going on here? A party or something?"

I put my index finger up, motionning him to wait a sec, and fastly ran back inside to spit the toothpaste from my mouth, and turned the radio off.

"Sorry, I just like to listen to music really loud," I said, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, once back to where Pit was standing. "Hey buddy," I finally greeted him, smiling. "What are you doing here?"

"Boss's orders," he shrugged, faking to be sad. "I didn't want to see your pretty face today. I so don't want to be here."

"That's why you brought me flowers, right?" I ironically said with a wide smile.

"Those aren't from me. I'm not that kind of a man," he chuckled. "They're from Michael."

"Really?" I asked, a hand over my heart while the other one took the bouquet from Pit's hands.

"Yes ma'am. And I'm committed to take you to your meeting, and take you and your family with me back to Neverland later today. I'm basically sticking with you the entire day."

"Wh-What? Why? I mean, I'm fine, I didn't need anybody to take care of me."

"Well, apparently you let Michael know that your bodyguard quited, because he wasn't ready to settle down here or something. Michael just thought that you needed protection, so here I am."

"This man," I chuckled softly. "I'm sure I would have been fine though, but since you're here, please be my guest," I said, and took a step aside to let Pit in, but he didn't budge. "Come on in, silly."

"Just tell me if you don't want to spend the day with me, I'll understand, you know," he told me, crossing his arms, pouting.

I giggled, "Of course I want to, this day couldn't have been any better. You're like the icing on top of the cake."

"I better be," he playfully said, gently pinching the tip of my nose while passing by me to come in my condo. "I think Michael mentionned you should read the card he wrote for you. He left it in the bouquet."

I closed the door behind us, and made my way to the kitchen, closely followed by Pit. I put the red and white roses down, taking the card in my hands. As soon as I opened it, a smile grew on my face at the sight of Michael's messy handwriting.

"Hey babygirl,

Thought it would be much better to have your personal bodyguard today. I don't want you to be mobbed or anything on your way there. Those roses are good luck ones. You're going to be great and have this job. There may be competition, but I know you're not afraid of it. I believe in you, and
I can't wait to see you. I love you.

Yours sincerely,

Mikey."

I smiled once more, showing all of my teeth, and put the note down. Pit sat at the kitchen island in front of me, and burried his chin in his hands, studying my face.

"Girl, you're aware that you're glowing, right? I never saw you this happy in a long, long time."

"Is this so obivious?" I asked, giggling, putting Michael's flowers in a crystal vase.

"It's evident to me," he smiled back at me. "It's funny because Michael was acting the exact same way this morning. What did you guys do?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"We just enjoyed each other's presence," I shrugged, giving him yet another wide smile.

"And from what I understood, you're back together, right?"

"Yeah, but you know, it's complicated," I said, my smile leaving my face a bit. "I mean, he asked me to be his girl again just tomorrow, and of course I said yes, but we both know that our relationship will be a secret one. We have to be really careful, or the press is going to bring us down at the second they see something weird between Michael and I."

"Well, I was thinking," Pit began, serious. "Why doesn't Michael do like a public statement about his divorce with Jessica? After that, you guys could be free to be together."

"I thought about that, but then again, the press is going to say that he's a cheater, that I'm a marriage wrecker, that we should be ashamed because Michael just 'lost' his baby... I don't want him to go through this. He has enough problem to deal with."

"Fuck the press. Let them say whatever they want. You know the truth, both of your families too, this is the most important thing, right?"

"Michael doesn't want to tell his family yet."

"Why?" my friend frowned.

"I don't know, and honestly, it's fine. I don't want to rush him in any ways. I want him to feel comfortable with what we have, and I'll do things the way he wants me to. That's as simple as that," I smiled, and my stare crossed the clock. "Shit! I got to get prepared, I have my dance lesson in ten minutes!" I exclaimed, running back to my room.

I stripped from my black dress and underwears, and put my clean panties and clothes I picked earlier on. I then came back in the bathroom where I brushed my hair, and put them in a proper high ponytail. After that, I put my daily L'Oreal Hydrating Cream on my face to hydrate the hell out of my skin. Then, for the make up, I decide not to wear any, since I was just taking dancing lessons, I didn't need to be fancy, right?

***

"And five, six, seven, eight!" Amanda Looper, my strict dancing teacher loudly said, watching my every move really closely.

After one and a half hour of dancing, I felt drained, but also extremely happy about the fact that I got to dance again, and noticed that I was still able to memorize short routines, and do the moves as good as I used to. At first, she asked me to show her what I was able to do, so she can see by herself the skills I already had. At first, I was kind of embarassed, because it been a while I didn't dance for someone. She put on some music I didn't recognize, and showed her what I got. I began by some hip-hop movements I learned by myself, and then did some things a little bit more girly, using my hips and butt mostly. This is what I used to do when I was a dancer in that club. The owner wanted us, the female dancers, to make the costumer want us, desire us, by using our attractive features. Macho man, you say? And yes, you're totally right. I'd evn say a motherfuking sexist if you ask me.

"Are you sleeping or what? Come on, from the top!" she said again, again, and she was already getting on my nerves. "Five, six, seven, eight!"

Serisouly, this woman made me think of a tyrant. She was a tall and thin woman, probably in her mid forties, with red, messy hair. Never did she smile at me, nor did she say something nice. She's a hard-worker, that I can tell you all. She never allowed me to take a break, and kept on going with her lesson. She, however, had the kindness to ask me what kind of dance I wanted to learn. What a nice lady. Feel the irony? Good. Anyways. I told her I wanted to learn some belly dance, salsa, tango, or even some contemporary dance.

She made up a little routine for me to learn, and one particular step was giving me a hard time, and when I failed, she just told me to do it from the top. I did the same damn routine seven times.

"Belly undulation, one, two, three, spin. Step to the left, hip roll, one, two, three, sp –" she stopped the music, and rubbed her forehead in frustration, "you failed that spin again! Why can you do the first one properly, and fail the second one?"

"Maybe because you didn't let me breathe a single minute since you got here?" I smartly answered.

"Breaks are for loosers. Now from the top!" she said, turning the sound back on.

I snatched the remote from her hands, and gave her an evil stare, "Listen up. I decided to take dancing lessons to relax, because I love dancing. Right now, you're making me regret my choice. So you're just going to take your stuff, and leave."

"You're kicking me out?" she asked, stunned.

"Basically. And it's not necessary for you to come back anymore."

"You're too weak to even be a dancer," she scoffed, and took her stuff from the floor.

"I'm no dancer," I laughed. "Dancing is something I love to do for fun. Did we have any fun here? Uhhhh... None."

She shook her head at me, and slammed the door behind her before leaving my home for good. At the second she left, I let myself fall on the couch, and drank from my bottle of water. I honestly didn't want to work with that woman anymore, and thought about just giving up on dancing again. I missed it a lot, but realized that I still could dance by myself. I didn't need anyone to do what I love anyways.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on my door, and Pit coming inside seconds later. He had, what I supposed, was lunch in his hands, and closed the door behind him before putting the plastic bag on the kitchen island.

"I just passed Amanda. You guys are already done?" he asked, making his way towards me.

"Oh no, I just kicked the bitch out," I said, and took another sip of my water as Pit sat besides me, giving me a look. "What?"

"You kicked the bitch out? What happened?" he laughed at me.

"She was getting on my nerves. I swear, this woman is a tyrant, buddy," I chuckled.

"Didn't you have fun?"

"Uh, hell to the no!" I dramatically said, which caused my friend to laugh again. "Seriously, I felt like I was in school again. I decided to take dancing lessons to relax and do what I love, but she just turned this into torture."

"Come on, let's have lunch. I think you deserved some good Chinese meal," Pit said, gently tapping my thigh with his left hand.

"I need a shower first. I never sweated this hard in my entire life," I declared, gesturing to myself.

"Well, you can go ahead and have a shower, but then don't complain if I ate all the noodles and nems," he shrugged, walking to the kitchen.

***

As I stepped out of the shower, I took a quick glance at the clock, and noticed I had a little less than an hour to get prepared and hop in the car to go to the agency in Santa Barbara. I brushed my teeth, and then I blow dried my hair, thinking hard about what kind of outfit I should wear. I wanted something sofiticated, but not too much. I looked over all my outfits in my head, and thought about something that could acutally do the job. I put the hairdrier down, and went to my walk-in closet, and began searching for the dress I was thinking about. It was a red, long, sleevless Chanel dress that hugged my curves, and stopped at my ankles.

Perfect, I said out loud to myself.

I returned in the bathroom, and added a few curls in my now dried hair. Once I was over with my hair, I began my make up by adding some red lipstick to my lips, and some light bronze eyeshadow. Nothing more. I think I could have done much more, but I never liked to feel like my face was covered in make up. That's one of the reasons why I don't wear any foundation. Not that I don't need it, I just don't like it, and I like to be as natural as possible. I looked at myself in the mirror, and liked what I saw. It was the most important thing for me: for me to love my looks. If people don't like it, I really don't care. Anyways. To finish with, I put some Chanel Number 5 perfume on before leaving the bathroom with nothing but a towel around my body. I put some underwears and slipped into my dress. I decided to put a golden necklace along with it, and put some black four inches high heels.

I then grabbed one of my bags, and threw some clothes in it: some blue ripped jeans with a short denim jacket, a plain white t-shirt and a blue one, a pair of heels and sneakers (just in case), my toothbrush, and some underwears along with one of my sexiest nightdress. This was the bag I was taking to Neverland, that explains why I chose the sexiest pajamas I had. I decided I would take some change, because as Michael loves to say "when you come to Neverland, you're bound to get wet". I mean, I don't need to go to Neverland to get wet, just being with Michael gets me wet, but well, that's not appropriated (but it's the truth, though). I grabbed one of my black clutch, and finally I was ready to go.

I made my way back to the living room where Pit was watching TV while waiting for me, and at the second he heard my heels clicking on the wooden floor, his head snapped towards me. He stood up from the couch, turning the TV off, and adressed me his full attention.

"Breathtaking, princess," he said in a low voice, eying me from head to toes.

"Thank's, buddy," I shyly smiled. "Shall we go now?" I asked, putting my shades on.

"We shall, Ms. Wellington," he said in a British accent, which caused me to laugh at him. "The limo is waiting for you outside."

"Limo?" I asked, my eyes doubling in size while Pit took my bag from my hands. "Why did Michael ask you to take the limo? I have my own car."

"Does your car can welcome all of your family in it?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh," I simply said, laughing at my stupidity once again. "Sorry. I'm like... Real slow today."

"What love can do," he shook his head from side to side, opening the front door for me.

"Shut up," I laughed, and stepped out of the house.

***

As Pit and I were in the elevator, the annoying music that played in there filling our ears, I could feel a little wave of nervousness washing over me. Nous Models is one – if not the one – of the most famous model agencies in the country. In the early fourties, this agency was created by famous model, Joan Crawford, in order to find new models and teach them the tricks of the trade. It's an honour for me to be the one who will continue the work she used to do. Her daughter, Emily Crawford, took over her mother's business, and was the one to call me when she learnt about the end of my contract with Chanel. Over the phone, she told me that this agency always had the best models in this world to form the new ones, and that she'd be honored if I accepted to work for her. It's flattering, because I didn't know I was this influent in my field.

Once Pit and I stepped out of the elevator, we made our way to the room Emily indicated me a few days before, and the door was already open. I knocked on it, and instantely, Emily came rushing towards me with a wide smile on her face.

"June Wellington," she said, joyful. "It's good to finally meet you," she said, shaking my hand.

"Likewise," I smiled back. "This is my friend, Pit," I introduced him.

"Mr. Jackson's bodyguard, right?" she asked him, shaking his hand. I frowned a bit, "I know I shouldn't read what's written in the press, but I can't help myself."

"If you just read it and don't believe it, that's fine," Pit said, smiling.

"I don't," she verified, letting go of his hand, and turned her attention back at me. "Now please, come on in. We'll start as soon as everyone's here."

I frowned again, "Everyone?"

"Ah! Here she is!" Emily cheered, looking behind my head. "Ms. Porizkova!"

This is when my joyful mood disappeared in a heartbeat.

"This has to be some fucking joke," I muttered under my breath, but Pit visibly heard me.

"What's the matter?" he asked me, concerned.

"This bitch," I cursed her out again, under my breath.

"What?" Pit asked again.

"Oh, June Wellington! What a surprise!" Porizkova said, giving me a sarcastic smile with a shocked expression on her bitch face. "Emily, you didn't tell me I wouldn't be the only one to apply for this job."

"I didn't tell any of you both. I didn't think it was necessary. Is there something wrong with a little bit of competition?" she joked, laughing nervously when she probably noticed the tension between the both of us. I was staring daggers at the bitch.

"I love competition," I said with fake glee, keeping my eyes on Porizkova.

"Great! Now, please, ladies, come on in," Emily said, and the btich didn't waste a minute to avoid my stare and come in the room. "Are you coming?" she asked me, when she noticed I didn't move an inch.

"Yes, give me a minute," I gently told her, and she nodded before enterring the room again. I turned to Pit, and took his arm to drag him further in the hallway. "I might be arrested for animal abuse in a bit, I'm telling you. I'm gonna rip off this cow's head."

"What? How do you know her?"

"Remember when the press said I tried to kill myself?" I asked Pit, and he nodded, confused. "Well, she's the one who spread that rumor. We were both at a cocktail party, and I had too much alcohol that night. I just needed to get my mind of off things you know, and the bitch was there. I had like three glasses of vodka, and I passed out. Three drinks can't pass me out, normally, so I was kinda confused. The next day, Jer told me that one of the girls there told him that this cunt put something in my drink. That's what made me pass out."

"What the fuck? Why did she do that? And why didn't you tell me?"

"Dude, I have no fucking idea," I sincerely said. "Guess she just wanted to be the only one successful model in the field. Naomi Campbell and Brooke Shields told me she was evil, but I didn't want to listen to them, because for me, she was nice. No need to tell you I changed my mind about the bitch, right?"

"Princess, you could have told the police. She tried to kill you," Pit frowned, rubbing my bare arm.

"I didn't want anymore drama in my life at that time. She still doesn't know I know. I didn't even tell Karl, he just thought I was drunk, like everybody else. But then, Porizkova said to one of those tabloids trash that I tried to kill myself with drugs and alcohol," I explained, and turned around towards the room's open door. "I should probably get going now. I'll tell you everything when I'll be out," I told him, and stood on my tip toes to give him a hug. "Thanks for being here, buddy."

"My pleasure. Now go in there, and kick some ass," he said, rubbing my back. "I'll be right there waiting for you."

I broke the hug, and enterred in the room, closing the door behind me.

"Now we're ready to begin!" Emily cheered, smiling. "Please, have a seat next to Paulina," she motionned to the empty chair next to the cunt. "So, first of all, do you have any questions?"

"I got one," Paulina said, raising her hand. What is it, school? Stupid bitch. "Why did you choose us? Well, no. I meant, why did you choose June? I know why you chose me, but I don't see why you chose June, to be honest. No offense," she faked a smile towards me.

"None taken," I faked the same smile as her.

"Well, the answer is quite simple. She's one of the most influent models out there, if not the one."

"Uh, I am the most influent model in the US, excuse me," she said with an attitude.

"This is true, and this is the reason why you're here. But June conquered not only the US. She conquered Europe, and the US with Chanel."

"Whatever," she said, visibly offended, which caused me to snicker quielty.

"Anymore questions?"

"Nope, none," I smiled. "You can go on."

Wellington 1, Porizkova 0.

"So I already told the both of you what I was expecting you to do for this job, and I want to explain how things are going to be. First of all, I'll assign you some resumes of young talents who want to become models. You'll have to meet with those young people, and ask them questions in order to see if they're ready for the job or not, and of course, if they have all the qualities requiered to be a model here, at Nous Models. Then, among the young people you'll choose together, I'll – "

"Excuse me, but... Together? We'll have to choose them together?" I asked, hoping I misheard her.

"Yes. Is this a problem?" Emily wondered.

"Um, no. Please go on."

"So as I was saying, among those people you'll choose together, I'll divide them into two groups: one that will be trained and formed by you, Paulina, and the other one, by you, June. Your goal is to allow those kids to become known models around the world, and to make sure they'll have a career after that. You need to be role models for them: you need to be their friend, their mother, and their teacher. They expect a lot from you. You'll become their agents. Some of them travelled the world just to be lucky enough to work with you, so don't neglect them. Am I clear?"

"Crystal clear," I nodded.

"And then what's going to happen? You'll keep the one who did the better job with her models?" my rival asked, and I instantly rolled my eyes. Old habit of mine.

"Pretty much, but there's more. Much more," she announced, and it got me confused. "The person I judged did the greatest job with her models, and who's the most professional, will take my place as the head of this agency."

"What?" the bitch and I asked in unison.

"I'm sixty years old, ladies. I can't go on like this, and my son doesn't want to take the agency back. I'm an old woman who needs to know that my mother's legacy will be in good hands after I leave, and I heard good things about you from both of your former managers: M. Lagerfeld, and M. Klein."

"Wow, I'm trully... Honored. I don't know what to say," I declared, shocked.

"Then say nothing, and just concentrate on your work," Paulina snapped at me, before giving a large smile to Emily. "Thank you for the opportunity, you won't be disappointed."

"I'm sure," she nodded, and handed the both of us a folder with resumes in it. "Those are the resumes you need to study. You'll personally give a call to each and everyone of the candidates you want to meet and interview, and have it all done within two weeks. After this two weeks notice, you'll have to come back here so that I can split them into two groups. Is everything's clear?"

"Yes," I nodded, looking through the resumes. "There are a lot of people," I chuckled.

"I know right," Emily giggled. "That's why you need to select the good ones. If you choose the wrong ones, then this will cause damage to me, but also to you. I trust you on that, don't disappoint me."

"Are we done now? I have a photoshoot in forty-five minutes," Paulina said, putting the folder in her handbag.

"I think we are. I'll give you a call if I forgot to tell you something."

"Good," she said, and handed me a card that she found in her handbag. "Give me a call when you're ready to work with me," I took the card, and she began to leave. Once she was at the door, she turned around, and called to me, "and don't take forever to call me. Tomorrow would be great for me, so call me at this time."

I didn't have the time to tell her that I wasn't there tomorrow because I vowed to my family that I would take them to Disneyland, that she already left. I sighed angrily, and stood up from my chair.

"You both doesn't seem to get along that much. Is that because of the rumors she said about you?" Emily gently asked me.

"How do you know?" I asked, frowning.

"Like I said, I read tabloids, but don't believe what's written in them," she shrugged, giving me an innocent smile.

"Yeah, that's the reason why," I simply said. "But don't worry, it won't affect the work we'll have to do together."

"I'm not worried. Lagerfeld told me you were really professional," she declared, which caused me to smile. "You don't worry. You won't have to work with her for a long time. After the interviews, you'll become rivals, and won't work with each other, but kind of against each other. I love competition," she chuckled soflty.

"I love competition too," I admitted. "She doesn't scare me."

"Good," she nodded. "Now I guess I'll see you in two weeks. Give me a call if you need anything, or have any questions."

"Sure will, thank you," I smiled, and gave her a handshake before leaving the room.

As Pit told me he would, he was waiting for me in the hallway, sitting on a comfy chair. I made my way up to him, and at the second he saw me, he stood up.

"You're done already? Is this a bad sign?" he asked me, worried.

"No, not at all. I have everything I needed, so we can go get my family."

"You're not gonna give me any information about what went on in there?" he asked me, pouting.

"I'll tell you in the car."

***

We arrived in front of the hotel where my family was staying, and Pit stepped out of the limo to come and open the door for me, as the gentleman he is. I told him about the meeting, and he told me he wasn't worried a bit about me, that I would be the one to have the job in the end. It reassured me a bit, but on the other hand, I was kind of a little afraid about the competition. I didn't lie when I said that I wasn't afraid of Paulina. This is true. The thing is, I'm afraid ot what she's capabale to do to take someone down. I mean, she told the press those bullshits about me for one and only reason: she wanted to take me down, and get me out of the picture because she knew I was good at what I do. She didn't want anybody to surpass her. Like I said, Brooke and Naomi told me about her devilish ways to take people down, but I didn't listen to them. They later told me that she actually tried to do the same thing with them, and I felt stupid. As a conclusion, I was happy on the one hand because this job was exactly what I was aiming to do, but I was frustrated on the other hand because I knew the battle was going to be tough, and just thinking about working with Porizkova for a few weeks pissed me off. I knew this situation was going to test my nerves severly, but I needed to deal with her manipulating ass, and be professional, as I always am.

When we arrived in front of my mother and Damon's suite, we knocked on the door, and seconds later, Day opened the door with a wide smile on his face, and greeted me with a warm hug.

"You're so beautiful, girl," he said in my ear, rubbing my back.

"Thank's Day, you're not bad yourself," I giggled and broke the embrace.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Ryerson," he politely said, and gave Pit a handshake. "Been a while!

A huge while, actually. The last time they saw each other was not the happiest one. It was when Day and I had some issues dealing with each other. It was that time when Damon dragged me in a dark alley, covering my mouth, so we could have a talk. But like I always say, lets the past remains the past.

"Yeah," Pit chuckled, letting go of Day's hand. "It's nice to see you on... Better terms, Mr. Grey."

"Oh please, call me Damon. June's friends are my friends," he said, winking at Pit. "Come on in guys," he said, taking a step aside.

"Wait, can we bring everyone in there? I have a surprise for you all," I smiled.

"Uh, of course, yeah," Day said skeptically. "Jer and Dave are in room one-hundred and nine, and Tim and Josh are in room one-hundred and eight."

"Okay, we'll be back," I smiled, and took Pit's hand, dragging him through the hallway. "You go and knock on Jer and Dave's door, and I knock on my cousin's."

Pit nodded, and did as told, while I knocked on Josh's. A few seconds later, he opened the door, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Hey crackpot, you're already there?" he asked, hugging me.

"Yeah, the meeting is over.Would you and my wonderful godson come to my mother's suite? I have a surprise for you all, and – "

"Daddy! With who are you talking?" I heard Timmy's voice asking through the hotel room.

"Auntie June's here!" he yelled back, and I instantly heard Timmy's little feet stomping towards the door.

"Auntie Juuuune!" Timmy drawled happily, jumping in my arms. "You're so beautiful today," he said, playing with my hair.

"Are you implying I wasn't beautiful the other days?" I asked, faking to be shocked.

"Nooo, of course you're beautiful everyday," he said, snuggling his head in the crook of neck. "You're the most beautiful woman in the whole world!"

"Why, thank you, baby boy," I said, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Why are you so nice to me?"

"Because you're the best aunite in the world because you're taking us to Disneyland tomorrow!"

Damn, a part of me hoped he forgot about it, but who was I kidding? A eight year old boy wouldn't ever forget about going to Disneyland.

"I am," I verified, a little smile on my face. I put Tim down, and he automatically took my hand in his, "and I have another surprise for you."

"Another one?" he asked, jumping up and down. "What is it?"

"I'm not telling you yet," I said, pinching the tip of his nose gently. "Just pack some clothes, and some hygiene stuff in a bag for a day, and meet me in my mother's suite," I told Josh, who had a confused expression on his face. "Just do so!" I laughed at him, and he did as told.

"Jer and Dave are packing a few things. They'll meet us in your mother's room," Pit informed me, and we came back to my mom's suite.

"Hey honey," my mom told me as I stepped into the room. She placed a kiss on my cheek, and looked up at Pit. "Pit, isn't it?" she asked him.

"Exactly, ma'am. It's very nice to finally meet you," he said back, shaking her hand.

Yes, it's pretty weird that my mother and Pit never got to meet each other before, but with me being in Paris, and rarely to New York, and my mother's job, it wasn't easy for them to meet.

"Likewise," she smiled. "I heard a lot of good things about you. You're the nicest guy, according to June."

"She is the nice one," he said, and I slightly blushed. "But thank you, anyways," he smiled.

"So, what's the surprise, sweetheart?" my mother asked, returning her attention to me.

"We're going to Neverland!" I cheered, clapping my hands together.

"Oh that's awesome!" my mother cheered as well. "I love this place so much!"

Yes, Damon and my mother already went to Neverland the day I moved in with Michael. It was fast, but I remember them enjoying themselves there. I mean, who doesn't enjoy being at Neverland?

"What place?" Damon asked, coming back in the living room where we were standing.

"Neverland! June is taking us there!"

"Oh, that's great!" Damon said, joyful. "When will we get back?"

"Michael said that we could sleep there. He got the guest house ready for you guys," I smiled at them. "So pack your stuff for the night and for tomorrow. We won't be coming back here before going to Disneyland."

"Oh wow," my mom laughed. "You're spoiling us with suprises!"

"Michael had the idea of you coming to Neverland, so I'm not responsible for any of this," I giggled. "

"Oh! How went your meeting?" my mother asked, while she was halfway in her bedroom.

"I'll tell you everything in the car," I laughed. "Go pack your stuff."

***

 We arrived at the gates of Neverland a good couple of hours later. During the trip there, I got to answer the questions of my excited godson, like "you said Michael had a zoo in his house? And a movie theater? Why does he have all of this in his home? How big is Michael's home?" and so on. It amused me to see how excited he was to go there, and it made me really happy. I also got to answer the questions of my family and friends about my meeting, and I told them how it went. Of course, when I mentionned the name of Paulina Porizkova, it visibly rang a bell for Jer and Dave. They looked at me with wide eyes, and I just told my family that I had some issues with her, that we were simply rivals. I didn't get into details because I didn't want to worry them. Basically, they were all happy for me, but I knew I had to answer some more questions from my two friends about the bitch and I's encounter. I thought about hiding this from Michael, but then decided against it. I vowed not to hide things from him again, and this is what I was going to do.

When Pit turned the engine off, he stepped out of the car, and went to open the door to us. I was the one to step out of the car, and was directly greeted by Michael's smiling face. All I wanted to do was jump into his arms, but I really didn't know if I could do so or not. When he approched me, and took me in his arms, I let out a happy sight, and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"Hi there beautiful," he whispered in my hair. "You're stunning, as always."

"Hey handsome," I whispered back. "Thank you, just as you," I smiled, even though he couldn't see me.

We broke our embrace, and I wanted to kiss him, but as he didn't budge, I guess he was afraid someone sees us, and I totally understood.

Everybody came out of the car and greeted Michael happily, though the happiest person was Tim. He had eyes everywhere.

"Oh, wait a sec," Michael said to all of us, holding his index finger up. He ran to some place, and came back with Bubbles in his arms. "I want you all to meet someone."

"A chimp?" Josh asked, wide eyed.

"Yes," Michael chuckled. "This is Bubbles, Bubbles, this is everyone," Michael said to Bubbles, even though he couldn't understand. Normally, Michael communicates with him thanks to sign language.

Bubbles, as the shy baby chimp he is, hid his face in the crook of Michael's neck. At the second he recognized me, he wiggled from Michael's hold, opening his arms to me. Everybody laughed, including me, and Michael handed me Bubbles. He automatically hugged my neck, and I giggled at him.

"Some things don't change," Michael shrugged. "He's always been a moma's boy," he giggled.

"He is so cute!" Tim said in awe. "Where does he live?"

"He lives here, with me. When he was still a baby, he slept in my room with me. He'd wear diappers, like an acutal baby, and I took care of him as such," he explained to Tim.

"Daddy, can I have a baby chimp? Please say yes!" he asked Josh, and I laughed at him.

"Uh, we'll talk about this later, buddy," Josh giggled.

"I'll put Bubbles back in the house so he can have a little nap, and then I'll show you around. I'll be back," Michael said, and took my free hand, dragging me to the main house.

I set Bubbles on the floor once we arrived in the house, but Michael grabbed my hand again, and lead me to the living room, where nobody was there, and closed the door behind us. At the second he closed the door, his lips crashed on mine hungrily, and he gently pushed me on the nearest wall. His hands were exploring my body, as his tongue was wrestling with mine. I put my hands on the back of his neck, and pushed his head to mine, kissing him back with the same hunger.

"I know you did that on purpose," he breathed on my lips, before kissing me again.

"What?" I asked, giggling through the kiss.

"Red dress," he shortly said, covering my body with his.

"Sorry," I giggled again, because of the kisses Michael was laying on my neck. "So you're some kind of bull? You get excited when you see red?" I laughed hard this time, happy with my joke.

"You could say that," he laughed as well, and stopped kissing me to look into my eyes. "But you're the only one who has this effect on me."

"Well, I'm glad," I said, caressing his left cheek while looking at him lovingly in the eyes. I pecked his lips once again.

"How was your meeting? Did you like the flowers?"

I began by thanking him for the flowers by giving him yet another kiss, and told him about the meeting by explaining to him that everything went good, and then I explained the entire thing with Paulina. At first, he was shocked, and was a little bit sad that he wasn't here to support me when the bitch spread this rumor about me, but I reassured him by telling him that it was fine, and that it was a long time ago. Then, after I explained everything, he told me that I'll be the one to get the job because I deserved it and everything. He reassured me, he showed me that he believed in me, and this is all I needed to hear to feel confident about it.

I needed to rise to a new challenge, and Michael was going to be by my side this time.