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Author's Notes: I am not making any money off of Michael in any way so it is pointless to try and sue me. I am simply doing this for fun and because I love him. However the main original characters Irina as well as a few other random OCs belong to me so if you steal them you will be in trouble. This fic is based on Michael's character Maestro from the film Ghosts, rated T for some fantasy violence and mild language here and there. I am not sure where this is going yet so bear with me. Most of my MJ fics are family oriented so forgive me if some areas of this fic seem rusty. Rude, hateful comments are not welcome.

Irina stirred slightly in her warm comfy bed whilst having another blissful dream about him again--the mysterious Maestro of Normalville, the town which happened to be right outside her dwelling place. This dream was considerably different from the ones she had in the past. It seemed to be telling her something about Maestro, like a vision almost.

*Dream begins*

Maestro stood in the midst of his massive ballroom, reaching out a hand to Irina. She walked closer to him, reached forward and hesitantly placed her hand in his. He gently but firmly grasped it and pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her and holding her close to him.

 

‘Mmmmm...' The red-head sighed softly as Maestro's touch melted her and she felt butterflies in her stomach. She had to admit, she enjoyed being in his arms. It made her feel safe and comforted.  She buried her face in his hair, enjoying his scent. ‘I don't want this moment to ever end.'

 

An apparition surrounded the two and Irina could hear a voice whispering in her ear, "Do not be afraid of Maestro, my dear. He shall not harm thee. You are destined to soothe his loneliness and despair." The voice faded away before Irina could ask what it meant.

 

*Dream ends*

 

Irina stirred once again, and slowly began to awake from her deep slumber. She groggily sat up in bed, rubbing the remainder of sleep from her eyes. She just sat there, trembling from the intensity of the dream. ‘Oh my, what a dream. What could it possibly mean?' She would usually shrug most of her dreams off but the fact that they were about Maestro led her to believe it was more than just a mere coincidence. Not to mention they always left her with overwhelming feelings, especially now. ‘I wonder if all those recurring dreams are trying to tell me I am destined to be with Maestro.'  A possibility like that was rather hard to process, but not because she was concerned about whether she would be a good match for him or not. Technically she would, since she was actually half witch. There was just one problem. For the longest time, she had been slightly afraid of him because it was rumored his magic powers were immense enough to put her sorcery to shame, although a part of her always wanted to get to know him and be his friend.  But now she was ready to cross paths with him. ‘If there is any truth to what I was told in the dream, my encounter will hopefully be a positive one I will find memorable.'  And she was sure she would be able to relate to him a great deal.  Her train of thought was interrupted by her mobile phone vibrating in her skirt pocket. She pulled it out, wondering who could be texting her. She scrolled down to where it read missed messages and opened the new one, hoping it was her friend and co-worker, Carol.

 

Irina stared at the text message in horror, for it was not from Carol or even someone she was on remotely friendly terms with. It was from her prick of an ex-boyfriend Eric, the one person that made her feel contempt for mere mortals at times. He had been stalking her ever since she cut all ties with him several months ago and kept sending her all sorts of cryptic texts. This one she received sent a chill down her spine and not in a pleasant way, either. It read: ‘I'm closer than you think I am, you worthless she-devil of a witch. I hope you're prepared to enter an early grave. ‘ Of all the threats he made, that one took the cake. It made everything she feared about Maestro seem tame in comparison. Her heartbeat sped up and she started shaking as if she were having a panic attack. She felt so annoyed with herself for showing her fear. ‘Look at me. I'm so pathetic, letting an insolent human affect me this much.' She slowed down her breathing, trying to calm down and seek comfort in the fact that she had what it took to teach him a lesson. In all of her 33 years (and then some), she had never made it a habit to use her sorcery against humans since she always preferred to keep the information about her being part witch underwraps, but she was now at the point where she felt her enemies were leaving her no choice. She smirked to herself as her mind switched to her former classmates back in Belarus and how they used to mock her appearance and wardrobe, nicknaming her "Witchy Woman." ‘Heh. If they only knew the truth...but then again, it is probably just as well they didn't, because I would have been burnt at the stake by now.' She shuddered at the thought of such a fate.

 

The cell-phone vibrated once more. Irina gave a sigh of disgust, thinking it was Eric sending her another text. She clenched her teeth as she thought of a good way to insult him and let him know she meant it when she said he was out of her life forever. And she would do it in Belarusian, too, which was one of the ways she kept him in check in arguments during the course of their relationship. And it drove him crazy, too. Much to her relief, it wasn't Eric, but her friend Carol this time. She was always happy to hear from her.

 

Carol: "Hey chica! What's shaking?"

 

Irina smiled to herself at how perky Carol usually was during conversations. ‘I swear, that woman can make people forget all about their problems.'  She had managed to push her ex to the back of her mind, but not enough to forget him. She typed the response, "I have just awakened from a catnap about fifteen minutes ago. How about yourself?"  She hit send and then rested the phone on the bed, getting up to find something for work the next day whilst she waited for her friend to respond. She peeked through her closet, trying to find something professional enough for a seminar she was attending. She decided on a white blouse, a navy blue skirt and a blue blazer. Just as she was pulling it out and hanging it on the closet door, she heard her phone vibrate again. She went to see what Carol had said.

 

Carol: "Oh, not a thing. I am about to prepare dinner. Is everything all right with you?"

 

Irina thought about saying yes since the last thing she wanted to do was burden Carol with her problems, but the fact of the matter was that she felt she could use some advice so she would not have to resort to such drastic measures and regretting it later. She wrote, "Not exactly. Something rather disturbing happened." She had recovered somewhat, but not completely. She sat on her bed, stretching her long legs in front of her. She heard another buzzing sound as soon as she picked up her phone.

 

Carol: "Oh no! What happened? "

 

Irina drew in a deep breath, grimacing at the memory. She exhaled it as she explained in the text how Eric had sent her a death threat and recounted the previous times she had been harassed. She sent the text, bracing herself for how shocked Carol would be since some of the details were news to her, and the colorful language that would ensue from her fury about the situation. ‘I should have listened to her when she initially warned me he was bad news, and then I wouldn't be in this situation.'

 

There was a long pause, which made Irina wonder what had happened. There were a few possibilities that came to mind, like maybe Carol had to step away to calm down and digest what was said or she dropped the phone or threw it somewhere in anger, potentially breaking it. ‘I wouldn't put it past her if either of those things happened. She sure can have a vicious temper...sometimes I think it's worse than mine, which is scary, considering how ill-tempered I am.' Her stomach growled. She wondered if she should get a quick bite to eat while she waited for her friend's response. She started to head to the bathroom to wash her hands so she could make a snack when she heard the cellphone buzzing, indicating her friend had finally responded. She went back over to the bed, picking up the phone and reading the message.

 

Carol: "Why, that chauvinistic little f---...."

 

Irina let out a "phew" sound as although Carol was obviously livid, the reaction was a bit calmer than she anticipated it would be. She was surprised her friend refrained from using the f bomb considering she usually never held back when calling Eric out of his name. ‘That means two things. Either she stepped away from the phone to take her anger out on something or she's learning how to express herself better.' Of course under the circumstances she wouldn't blame Carol for using colorful language, but she gave her points for controlling her temper somewhat. She was about to type her agreement when she received another message.

 

Carol: "It's time to press charges against that dickweed, Missy!"

 

Irina chuckled softly to herself at her friend's vehemence and firmness, as well as the insult she chose for Eric, for it was one she herself called him when he tested her patience. And she knew Carol was right-something had to be done before he did something worse than stalking...she just hadn't been sure how to go about it without doing something extremely drastic. But she took her time considering the solution provided. Her eyes suddenly snapped open. ‘Of course! Why didn't I try that long ago?' She clasped her hands together, hoping it would work, for there were many instances some of her co-workers have had experiences filing reports and the police officers dragged their feet throughout the process-something she had very little patience for. ‘I think that's why I never bothered with that method.' She typed and sent a message to Carol saying she would look into it.

 

Carol: "And be sure to change your number while you're at it. I don't want to hear any news about you being brutally attacked and left for dead."

 

Irina felt like saying that wouldn't happen, but then thought better of it, since Carol would ask her how she could be so certain and then she would have to reveal her secret, so she typed:"Not to worry, I'll do that. In fact, tomorrow was when I planned to, because I have this feeling I haven't heard the last of him."  She just hoped it wouldn't be too little too late. ‘I had better do it on my lunch hour just to be safe.'  She had a feeling something bad would happen if she waited until after work.

Carol: "Good. I will check back with you to see how it went. As much as I would like to chat with you more, unfortunately this dinner won't cook without me preparing it, so I will have to leave you now.  I will see you at work tomorrow. "

 

Irina wrote, "All right. Take care of yourself. Ciao." She hit send and rested the phone on her bureau, then sat on her bed, placing her chin in her hands as she contemplated what to do for the rest of the evening. It was far too early to head to bed, even if she wanted to call it an early night. She thought about fixing something to eat, but she didn't have much of an appetite at the moment. She was looking for a major distraction-something that would take her mind off the disturbing turn of events. Whilst she thoroughly appreciated Carol's efforts, it still wasn't quite enough to free her mind of her troubles. She sighed wearily, putting a hand in her bright red tresses, when all of a sudden, her stomach growled again, loudly this time. She gave an aggravated groan. ‘Okay, okay, I'll feed you already. Geez!'  She got up and went into the bathroom, washing her hands. She then slipped her feet into her sandals and headed down to the kitchen, thinking about what she could eat. ‘I don't have the energy to cook anything. I just want something to curb my hunger.'  She opened her refrigerator, eyed it for a bit, spotting the donuts she had made the previous day in a container. ‘Ah. Those should do,' she thought, pulling out the container and resting it on the counter. ‘I was sort of craving them anyway.'  Pulling a rather small plate from the cupboard, she placed two donuts on the plate, completing the snack with a glass of almond milk. She carried it to the dining room, sitting down to enjoy it.

 

After slowly making work of half a donut, and sipping some of the milk, Irina pushed the plate away, deciding she had enough. Making sure the glass of milk was a safe distance from her, she rested her elbow on the table, leaning against it slightly and running her hand through her hair. She wracked her brain, trying to decide what else to do as it was still fairly early. Her mind wandered, thinking about the disturbing text and then the dream about Maestro she had while catnapping. ‘Maestro...I wonder if he has had any dreams, and what he's doing at the moment.'  She sat upright with a jolt when Maestro popped in her mind. ‘I know! Now is the perfect time to visit him...surely I will be distracted a great deal. Silly me! Why didn't I think of that before?' 

 

Smiling slightly, the red head carried her unfinished snack to the kitchen, and opted to at least finish the glass of milk, which she did before wrapping up the unfinished donuts. She was about to put up the container of leftover donuts when an idea of giving some of them to Maestro as a gift suddenly came to her. She didn't want him to doubt her sincerity. ‘Besides, I have made more than enough anyway, and I'm the only one here.' She reached into the cupboard, pulled out a medium sized plastic container and filled it with several donuts, sealing it with the lid and putting it in a bag. She made sure all curtains and windows were closed, and then exited her house. ‘Hmmm...I think I will go in my human guise until I am positive he can be trusted. ‘ Her heart started to pound as she teleported outside the gates of Normalville. Small parts of her were slightly nervous and terrified, but she was mostly filled with excitement. She frowned slightly when she tugged at the gates and noticed they were locked. ‘He must be trying to keep trespassers away. How clever of him. Well, this is no problem. I have other ways to get in.' She teleported inside the gate and spotted a large mansion, walking up to it. She cackled softly to herself, considering just teleporting inside the house and surprising Maestro. However, she knew better than to trespass both because of the wrath she would feel from him and plus she was raised to have better manners than that. She knocked on the door and rang the doorbell just in case. She stood on the doorstep and waited patiently, her heart pounding with excitement and anxiety.

 


 

Maestro was in his large music room, playing a new musical piece he had just written on the piano when he faintly heard knocking and the sound of the doorbell ringing. ‘Huh?' He furrowed his eyebrow and stopped playing. ‘It appears I have a visitor. How nice. I should give that person a warm welcome.' He wondered who it could be, as most of his past visitors often did not have any manners, but just entered his mansion without his permission, which he despised. It was one of the reasons he wasn't very fond of visitors. He got up from behind the large piano and went upstairs to his room, retrieving his favorite costume---a cloak and a skeleton mask, just in case his guest was one of the townspeople coming to be rude to him again. He had his fill of that, hence why he had taken it upon himself to scare them to death whenever they came. There were also times he scared people just to have fun and test them. He concealed his face with the mask, draped the cloak over himself, and headed towards the double doors, snapping his fingers to make them open on their own. He made himself invisible with the intention of surprising his guest, chuckling quietly.

 

Meanwhile, Irina wondered if she had made a mistake in coming or if Maestro was even at home. She was about to leave when she heard the doors open. ‘Hmm...so someone is at home, after all.' Her heart racing, she slowly entered the house and started looking around. The mansion had a spooky atmosphere, but also an elegant feel with the choice of furniture and figurines. ‘Wow. Maestro certainly has good taste. His home is sophisticated, yet simple. Who would have thought?'  She could have spent all evening admiring the inside of the house, but she remembered why she was there. ‘Snap out of it, Irina,' she mentally scolded herself.  Her voice got a bit loud as she called out, "Maestro? Sir Maestro? Are you here?"

 

Maestro smirked behind his skeleton mask as he heard Irina calling out for him. Still remaining hidden, he removed his mask and looked her up and down, licking his lips in approval at what he saw...a woman dressed in black with chalk-colored skin, blue eyes, an angelic face and bright flaming red hair. ‘She is such a beauty. I almost feel badly for even thinking of scaring her. However, I am not letting her off so easy.  ‘  He placed the mask back on and continued to observe her.

 

Irina could sense she was being watched, and that she was not alone. She gave a heavy sigh of exasperation, weary of the hide-and-seek game she appeared to be dealing with. "Maestro, I know you're in here somewhere! Come on out and face me. I don't have all evening to be playing games!" She folded her arms and tapped her foot.  She stopped, listening to herself. She was proud of herself for being this bold, considering not too long ago she wouldn't have put herself in this situation.

 

Maestro chuckled softly at Irina's impatience. ‘Such a feisty one. I like her already.'  Instead of doing what the red head commanded, he blew a kiss and a billow of smoke ensued, enveloping the entire living room and heading for Irina. Smirking again, he went to his ballroom, making himself invisible. ‘Come on, my pretty. If you are truly keen on conversing with me, take my hint and find me here.' He let out another chuckle, enjoying testing Irina with the game of cat and mouse.

 

Irina's jaw dropped open, then closed at what she just witnessed. She was too shocked to be miffed about Maestro toying with her this way. She coughed loudly as the billow of smoke surrounded her. She was also beginning to have trouble breathing and her eyes were blurry.  ‘What on earth is he trying to do to me? Kill me for visiting him? But why did he open up for me if that were true?'  She hung her head, unsure of what to think. ‘I should have known. That dream was wrong.' Whilst she was concentrating her energies to teleport herself out of the mansion, her eyes went blank and the smoke held her in place, almost as if she were in a trance. Before she knew it, her body was betraying her. She proceeded to leave the living room area, and as much as she tried to resist, it was useless. ‘Ugh...wait until he shows his face,' she thought, gritting her teeth. ‘He's going to regret the day he was ever born.' In her trance, she was walking past different rooms, and didn't stop until she was outside a large ballroom, where the door opened on its own. The woman gulped, finally able to breathe normally again. ‘I take it I'm supposed to enter? This could be a trap but I don't care.'  She held her breath, let it out, and entered the ballroom.

 


 

Irina looked around and noticed how the ballroom looked exactly like the one in her dream. But Maestro was still nowhere in sight, although she could sense his presence. Her patience with this game had worn thin. It annoyed her so greatly that she was led to the ballroom so forcefully and Maestro still insisted on hiding. ‘Well, this is stupid. Why am I even bothering to stay? I should just leave. I've had enough of his theatrics.' She looked at her watch and saw that she still had one hour and some. ‘I'll give him five more minutes and that's it. And I think I know how to force him out of his hiding place, too. Not what I planned so soon, but he has left me no choice.'  She closed her eyes and concentrated, preparing to morph into her witch form. As she was doing that, she heard a soft chuckle. ‘What the..?'  Her eyes popped open and she jumped. A figure dressed in a cloak and skeleton mask materialized in front of her, roughly three feet away. She tensed up slightly and felt shivers going down her spine.

 

The figure removed his mask, showing his face. Irina heaved a sigh of relief when she saw it was only Maestro. She also felt like saying, "It's about time you showed up." She was still sore with the way he tried her patience.

 

Maestro smirked, upon realizing his actions placed some fear in the woman before him. "Did I scare you?" he asked with a smile on his face.

 

Irina wanted to answer, "Like hell you did. Your scare tactics are nothing," because she didn't want to give Maestro the satisfaction of seeing her fear, but the fact that he appeared when she least expected did give her a bit of a fright. "Hmm, perhaps a little," she responded.

 

Maestro frowned, not satisfied with that answer. "Is that so? Then how about this?" He stuck his fingers in his mouth, stretching the corners of it and started wagging his tongue.

 

‘Is he serious...?' Irina looked at the scary maestro, wide-eyed. ‘I swear, he needs to think of better scare tactics.' She conjured a fan in her hands and giggled behind it.

 

Maestro stopped with the funny face and raised an eyebrow. ‘What's this? She's laughing? She is not like the others.'  And how she was able to make items appear in her hand at will made him wonder as well. "It seems I have underestimated you. Or are you not afraid of me?"

 

"You have," confirmed Irina, putting the fan away. "And yes, I was slightly afraid of you before coming here, but not so much anymore, especially not with the scare tactic you just used. And anyway, that's no way to treat someone who simply wishes to say hello and also brought you something. It was also uncalled for when you kept me waiting and then hypnotized me to make me come in here. " She frowned heavily at him.

 

Maestro furrowed his brow, looking thoughtful when he saw the semi-witch frowning at him. ‘Darn it, Maestro. Now you've done it! Not only are you on the verge of scaring her away, but she will think poorly of you, too,' his inner voice scolded him. Now he had another reason to feel bad about trying to scare her. Unlike a vast majority of his visitors, she actually showed some manners by knocking first, yet he had to be so rash. ‘What could possibly have made her afraid of me before she met me? Has the mayor fed lies to her about me?' He was none too good at apologies, but he knew he owed her one for his behavior. "I was merely testing you. I meant no harm. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

 

Irina looked into Maestro's eyes and saw he was being sincere. She also saw a hint of loneliness and sadness too, but at the same time she was captivated by them. ‘Those gorgeous, brown eyes...come to think of it, he is very handsome. His eyes...his long black hair...wait, pull yourself together, girl! This is no time to be fawning over him! I don't even know him for cripes sake!' She nodded. "I do."

 

Maestro gave Irina a warm smile. Although she was still pretty much a stranger, one thing he could say was that she was definitely more forgiving than most of the townfolks in Normalville. He wondered if she even lived in the same town, or if there was some open-minded person he had never met before, which was a huge possibility, given the fact that he rarely left his home. "May I ask, what is your name?"

 

"My name is Irina. Irina Kuznetsova."

 

"Irina." It was rather simple for Maestro to let her name roll off his tongue. "Very unique name, but quite fitting for a beautiful woman like you. My real name is Michael, but call me Maestro for now."

 

Irina happened to like the name Michael, but she figured he had his reasons for not wanting to be called that. "Well it is a pleasure to meet you, Maestro."

 

"Likewise. " On impulse, Maestro took Irina's free hand, brought it to his lips and gently pecked the back of it. ‘Mmmmm, such nice, soft skin.'

 

"Oh..." Irina's face blushed bright red, and she felt butterflies in her stomach when his lips touched the back of her hand. Her eyes met his, and she could tell he was worried he did something he shouldn't have and he was expecting a negative reaction. She gave him a reassuring smile. "Dobra Maestro, vy, viadoma, zjaŭliajucca čaroŭny chlopiec."

 

Maestro smiled, his eyes full of curiosity. "Which language is that?"

 

"It's Belarusian," Irina explained.

 

"Ah. Interesting."  Maestro nodded as if he had known all along Irina was speaking Belarusian to him. "What does it mean?"

 

"It means "Well Maestro, you certainly are a charming fellow."

 

 Now it was Maestro's turn to blush. "Thank you. And you're the most beautiful woman I have ever met."

 

Irina felt her cheeks getting hot as she blushed furiously. She placed her hands on her cheeks to cool them down. ‘Is he kidding? I look like a freak!' She didn't want to say that, though, because she could tell he meant what he said. "I don't know about that, but thank you. You are very attractive yourself."

 

Maestro chuckled softly. "You are far more attractive than I am." He could hardly believe how at ease he felt around Irina when it was rather difficult for him to open up to people, given how long he had been so painfully lonely. It was a very nice feeling for him to be himself since he was generally a keep it real kind of person to begin with. But there was still something that confused him. "I'm sorry to trouble you, but there is a question I would like to ask you, if you don't mind."

 

‘Huh?'  "No, I don't mind at all. What is it?" Irina glanced up at Maestro to show she was listening.

 

"Why were you so afraid of me? Did you think I was some kind of monster?"

 

Irina looked a bit sheepish. She had the feeling he would question her fear ever since she admitted it. She thought he sounded somewhat hurt, although he didn't show it. She bit her lip, unsure of how she should tell him without risking offending him. She let out a sigh. "No, I don't think that. It's your powers and how devastating they are. I was afraid of falling victim if I angered you by visiting you, which is why I was never able to build up the nerve before."

 

Maestro just looked at the red head, stunned and like he thought she was nuts. "Whatever gave you that idea? I have very little patience for ill-mannered guests and people who insist on entering my home without permission, but I do not commit senseless acts of violence, especially against women."

 

There was nothing Irina could say to counter that because she knew Maestro was right. She felt like a fool for acting on her misconceptions. She could only nod and say, "I see that now."

 

Maestro smiled slightly. "Good. There is no reason to fear me. I won't hurt you."

 

Irina lowered her head in shame, unable to look at him. "Promise?"

 

Maestro shook his head laughing, then walked up to the red haired woman and cupped her chin, prompting her to look at him. Her skin tingled when he did this. "Yes. You have my word. " He removed his hand from her chin, clenched it into a fist and pressed it against his heart.

 

Irina smiled warmly. "All right. I trust you. As for the gift I brought you, here it is. " She handed Maestro the plastic bag.

 

Surprised, Maestro took the bag from the woman. "What is it?"

 

"Just some donuts I had made yesterday. I had made more than enough so I thought I would bring you some." That was only partially true but Irina was embarrassed to admit she was afraid he wouldn't think her kindness was genuine and quite frankly, she didn't think there was a need to tell him.

 

"I see. Well that's very thoughtful of you. Thank you."  Maestro rested the bag on a chair. Although he was being fairly stoic, he appreciated this act of kindness more than he let on. For one thing, no one had ever cared enough to do anything nice for him and another, it was one of his favorite not-so-healthy snacks she had brought for him.

 

"You are more than welcome." Irina peeked outside and saw how dark it was getting. "Well Maestro, as much as I would like to stay and converse with you some more, I had better take my leave. It was a pleasure meeting you in person. I hope our paths cross again."

 

"Likewise," answered Maestro. "I do not typically open my home to very many visitors, but you are welcome here any evening."

 

"Thank you for the open invitation. I just may drop by again tomorrow evening."

 

"That's fine. I look forward to seeing you."

 

"So do I." Without thinking, Irina threw her arms around Maestro in a warm embrace. Taken off guard, he stiffened a bit, but relaxed and wrapped his arms around her, returning her hug.

 

‘I could stay like this forever, but that's not possible at the moment.'  Irina reluctantly pulled away from the embrace. "Ta-ta for now."  She exited the ballroom.

 

Maestro smiled as he watched the half-sorceress leave. He was suddenly feeling very good inside. This lady managed to break down some of his walls with her warmth and kindness, and that impressed him. For the first time in centuries he began to feel hopeful. All he wished for was for someone to accept him for who he was, and now it seemed like that was coming to pass.

 

 

 

 

Chapter End Notes:

All right, here is the first part. I cannot say how often updates will be as I am still figuring out how the whole thing will go, but I can promise you that I'll do my best. Please let me know what you think so far..the feedback just may help me a bit. Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it in advance! ta-ta! 

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