Author: Steffi (candysteffi)
Rating: let’s say Adult to be safe
Category: AU Without Alien, partly written in POV’s or narrative
Pairing: Mainly M&M
Summary: Maria deals with the ups and down’s when being the girlfriend of Michael Guerin. Her best friends Liz and Tess will help her to get it all figured out.
A/N: Okay, admittedly, this story probably doesn’t contain any super new fanfiction stuff, that ya never heard of in a Candy fic, but well… it was in my mind and it felt like it was time to come up with a new fic – since I went into hiding for a loooooooong time, lol. So here it is.
Updates will be every weekend, Sat or Sun – depends on my time.
Disclaimer: I don’t own anything, but the idea of the fic.
PART 1
P-R-E-S-E-N-T
“What time is it?” he asks himself more than me and gets up into an upright position from the couch we share together. He takes his cell from the little coffee table in front of us and glances at it. “Alright, I think I gotta go.”
“What?” I look at him puzzled. “Where are you goin’?”
“The guys were planning a party earlier. I would ask you to come with me, but it’s kinda a guys-only-thing, sorry.” He scratches his eyebrow nervously.
“But ya said you’ll spend the night with me – only with me – for once,” I reply annoyed.
“Yeah, I know,” he sighs, “look, I didn’t know about this party until earlier today and I kinda have to be there. All guys from the football team will be there, besides that, I really wanna go.”
“So you prefer to spend a night with the guys you see every day for several hours in school, during practice and then in the Crashdown afterwards, than staying with me? AGAIN?”
“M’ria,” he gets his things together from the table and shoves them into his pants pocket, “we will graduate in a few weeks and then we all go to different colleges and we won’t get the chance to have these parties ever again.”
“You’re right about that,” I answer angrily, standing up to grab my bag, “only a few weeks and we go to different colleges. That includes you and me as well,” I gesture between us, “so, what about me, Michael? I mean, we’re going to spend the whole year at different colleges and are just able to see each other during the holidays. Don’t you wanna spend some time with me as well?” I know he never talks about our relationship or his feelings, but we’ve been together for nine month now and there had to be something, right?
“Come on, Maria,” he tries helpless, “you can wait here, I won’t come home that late.”
“Wait here?” I ask unbelievably, “its Saturday, Michael, and I’m off from work at the Crashdown for once. I’m not gonna sit here alone all night and wait for you to come home.”
“We can spend tomorrow together,” he offers, “I don’t have any plans.”
“Huh?” I shake my head, “well, if you would have listened to me, then you’d remember that I’m working all day tomorrow.”
“Fine,” he mutters, “then another day when I get back from football camp.”
“Do you even want to be with me anymore?” I yell at him, when it seems that he doesn’t care at all. I walk over to the front door to put my shoes on.
“You know what,” he snaps back, “when you’re bitchy like this, then NO, I don’t wanna be with you, it’s driving me insane.”
His words hit me harder than I thought they would and I stumble backwards against the wall. I hadn’t expected an answer like that – was he breaking up with me? “You... you don’t ...” I stuttered out, hurt and bite my inner cheek to get some control back.
“You don’t...” I start again, nodding to myself before I glance back at him. “Well,” I continue hoarsely, “I guess that means I have no place in here any longer, huh?”
He just stares at me but stays quiet. His mouth is moving, but he isn’t making a sound at all. Please say, that you didn’t mean in that way, I think, but he isn’t answering my desire with anything.
“Okay,” I whisper and reach behind me to turn the door knob. All I want is out at that moment. And he doesn’t make an effort to stop me.
*****
“Maria? Maria, what’s wrong?” Liz asks me, alarmed through the cell, but I can’t answer her, as waves of sobs wash over my body and I curl up into a ball on my bed.
“Maria, you have to calm down,” she says soothingly.
“I… I can’t,” I cry into the phone, sure that I’m really scaring her at that moment.
“Where are you? Home?”
I nod but unfortunately she can’t see that. “Yeah,” I whisper into my cell.
“Alright, I’m on my way, sweetie, hold on,” she hangs up the phone then and I am sure that she will be here in no time. We’ve been best friends for a lifetime, and the thought that she is on her way to my house calms me down a little. I find some strength to take my shoes off and dress in something more comfortable before I lie down on my bed again and press one of the pillows against my body tightly.
The earlier scene with Michael runs through my head again and again. Was he already at his stupid party and having fun? Or was he still at home, confused and hurt like me? The sound of an opening and closing door rips me outta my thoughts. “Maria?” Liz calls from downstairs, already on her way up to me. She lives only a few houses next to me, so I am not surprised that she is already there.
“Okay, I’m here,” she says out of breath, when she walks into my bedroom, throws her bag carelessly to the ground and crawls up on my bed to hug me tightly.
I can’t hold up my remaining strength anymore and start to cry again. She rocks me back and forth for several minutes and I can’t say how long we just sit on my bed like this. “I’m sorry that I ruined your date with Max,” I whisper and look at her guilty.
She shakes her head. “No, it’s okay, Maria. You’re my best friend and when you need me, I’ll be there. Despite that, he was planning to go to some guys only party anyway. So tell me what happened, Maria? Is something wrong with Amy?”
My mom is out of town that week to get some things done for her job. Normally I am thankful to have the house just for me alone, but in this moment, I wish she was around. “No, she’s fine, I guess.”
“Okay,” she rests her back against my headboard and pulls me down to rest my head in her lap. “Michael?” she guesses again, driving her fingers through my hair.
I nod. “Yeah, we... we had a fight and,” I bite my bottom lip when tears begin to well up in my eyes, “... and I think we broke up.”
“What?” she asks, startled, and the movement of her hands stops for a moment. “How did that happen?”
I sigh deeply. “I don’t really know. It started with a fight about this party you said Max went probably to as well. We planned to spend this evening and night together and he didn’t say anything to me until it was time for him to leave.” I sit up and look at her, “I mean, I don’t say anything against it when he wants to spend some time with his friends, but lately it’s like he doesn’t even care if we see each other or not. I can’t even remember when the last time was, that we spent several hours together and alone, you know?”
Liz nods. “But maybe it’s just because of all the football games, extra practices and parties lately. I haven’t spent much time with Max either. And I guess he wants to spend some time with the guys before they all leave to go to different colleges.”
“Yeah, but that’s the difference, Liz. You and Max will go to the same college after this year. Me and Michael, probably not.”
“Haven’t gotten an answer from the college yet, huh?”
Liz is speaking of a college in California that Michael will go to because he got a football scholarship. “I called them two weeks ago and they told me that the acceptance letters were already out and if I hadn’t gotten either a positive nor a negative letter, than I was on some stupid waiting list. A waiting list, Liz. The guy on the phone told me that chances are very rare that I will get accepted, ‘cause it would only happen if some other people deny their acceptance.” I shake my head. “Probably doesn’t matter anymore anyway.”
“Okay, so you guys had a fight because he wanted to go to that party. What then?”
“It kinda got out of control from there. I asked him if he even wants to be together with me anymore, ‘cause I have the feeling he doesn’t care if he sees me or not.” I look down to my hands, wishing that I had just left without asking that question. Then I would just be mad at him now.
“What did he answer?” Liz lays her hand on my shoulder, sensing that this next sentence is the one that hurts me most.
“He said that he doesn’t when I’m like this...” I whisper.
“But he didn’t say he doesn’t want to be together with you by all meanings, right?”
I shake my head. “But he saw that I was hurt by his words, Liz. He must have noticed that I almost cried in front of him, but that jerk just stood there and watched me leave. If he really still cares about me, he would have done something, don’t you think?”
Liz looks at me helplessly. “I don’t know, Maria, maybe he was just as shocked as you about this turning into a fight. Maybe you two should just calm down alone and then talk again. I don’t think that he really wants a break up.”
“And that out of your mouth,” I say dryly and lay down again. Liz had been horrified when I first told her that I was dating Michael. She had asked me if I was crazy to go out with the man who was known as one of the worst womanizers of Roswell High School.
- - - - - - --
F-L-A-S-H-B-A-C-K
“You did what? No, Maria, you’re not going on a date with Michael Guerin,” Liz says adamantly.
“I don’t think that I need your permission, Lizzie.”
“What happened? I mean, you just went to that party last night, met him and agreed to go out with him? Where is the: I’m not falling for a guy who’s only playing with me?”
Maria rolls her eyes. “We will just have a date, it’s not like I’m gonna jump his bones right then.”
“Uh-huh. This date will just be the beginning of a bad end, Maria. Believe me.”
“Shut up, girl... He’s a great kisser by the way.”
Liz’ eyes grew wide. “You did kiss him?”
- - - -- - - - -
P-R-E-S-E-N-T
“Yeah, I know,” she chuckles, “but he’s kinda changed since he’s been with you and I even kinda like him. I’m sure he still loves you, Maria.”
“He never said it,” I admit, “wondering now if he ever thought about it.”
“He didn’t?” Liz asks surprised.
“No, he never talked about his feelings to me in ANY way.”
“Whatever,” she says to avoid this subject, “I’m still sure he doesn’t want to break up.”
I nod dumbly and try to relax. Maybe she is right. Hopefully she is right.
