DISCLAIMER: MEG CABOT OWNS ALL ORIGINALCHARACTERS, WEEZER OWN 'EL SCORCHO'
Note: Due to thepolicy of not using song lyrics I haven't written myself, I have removed the lyrics at the start of this chapter and from the chapter titles. If you are interested in seeing just how the song fits the story, you will have to find the lyrics on Google.
I originally called this 'Falling For You', but then I decided that the lyrics didn't go as well with it as the lyrics to El Scorcho. So I changed the song.
It's AU, the character of Lilly, as the sibling and best friend, has been taken away and replaced with Mia's older brother and Michael's best friend.
Mia Thermopolis sat in her bedroom studying for her upcoming algebra test, but the noise coming from the next room wasn't helping.
Finally, when she could stand it no longer, she left her work and barged into the next room.
"Can you turn it down a notch?" she cried over the music.
"Geez, Mia, calm down," her older brother, Dean, told her.
"Calm down? I can't calm down! Not when I have an algebra test tomorrow, and not when your music is thumping through the walls!"
"Sorry, Mia," Dean's best friend, Michael, said apologetically. "We'll keep it down."
Dean shot Michael a glare. "Yeah, whatever. We'll turn it down."
"Thankyou," Mia said, after Michael turned it down substantially. "And keep your yelling down too. It's just a video game, the characters can't actually hear you screaming at them."
"Hey, don't go dissing the games!" Dean joked.
"Whatever," Mia muttered, turning on her heel and heading into the kitchen for a snack.
"Everything ok, hon?" Helen Thermopolis asked her.
"Yeah, just stupid Dean is keeping me from studying. I have a huge test tomorrow and it doesn't help that you're dating the teacher."
"Mia, Frank can't give you any special treatment, that wouldn't be fair."
"I know, but it would be nice if he could at least post-pone the test. I've had so much on my mind lately…"
"Nice try. Now get back to your study!" Helen picked up her cup of coffee and took it into her bedroom.
Mia didn't go back to her books right away. She searched the fridge for food, and finding carrot sticks, she sat down to eat them.
"What's hanging, Little Thermopolis?" Michael came out of Dean's roon and headed for the fridge. Little Thermopolis was his nickname for her; he called Dean Thermopolis.
Mia frowned at him. "Help yourself," she indicated to the fridge mockingly.
Michael closed the fridge door and turned to her. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she lied.
Mia wasn't exactly Michael Moscovitz's number one fan. For years now he'd been hanging around the Loft like he's an extra family member. He and Dean have been best friends since the first grade.
"No, you're not. What's up?" Michael sat across from her at the table and grabbed a carrot stick from the small plate in front of her.
"Where should I start?" she said bitterly.
The week before, Mia's newfound royalness had been outed to the press. Now she has to act like a princess twenty four hours a day, every day. It's something she was never prepared for. And to make matters worse, Mia was in love with Josh Richter, until two days ago when he broke her heart, having used her merely for publicity.
And now she has an algebra test coming up, and she's not prepared at all.
Michael looked at her expectantly.
"Oh, you know. That whole thing with Josh, you were there."
Michael had indeed been there He tagged along with Dean and Dean's girlfriend Molly. He'd seen what Josh did, and he'd been there to pick up the pieces. Although he and Dean were not big, muscly guys, they'd made sure Josh knew he wasn't to go near Mia again. And having Lars standing threatingly behind them helped too.
"And then there's my outing. I hate that everyone knows now. I wish no-one knew, that way Josh would never have pretended he liked me. Now I'll never know who likes me because of my family jewels or because of me."
"Not everyone is like Josh," Michael told her.
Mia looked up at him. Michael has always just been her older brother's idiot best friend. He'd always hassled her and teased her, but he'd always been there for her too. Like another older brother. Like he'd been there for her at the dance.
"I know," she said, smiling at him. "Thanks."
"No problem, Little Thermopolis."
Mia usually hated that nickname. But suddenly it didn't seem so bad. Not when he was saying it the way that he was, ad looking at her the way he was.
"Oy, Moscovitz! Come on!" Dean yelled out from the doorway of his bedroom, breaking Mia and Michael's enchanting eye contact.
"I'm coming!" Michael yelled back. Then he turned to Mia, who was pointedly looking in the other direction now. "It'll all work out for you, I know it will."
"Thanks," Mia mumbled, wondering why she felt the way she did just then. She felt like her brother had just interrupted something, but she didn't know what.
An hour later, Mia heard Michael leaving and she wished he wasn't. For the first time ever, she wanted Michael hanging around like a bad smell. Not that she thought Michael smelled though, of course.
"So what's your problem then?" Dean walked into Mia's room as soon as Michael left.
"What do you mean?" Mia asked innocently.
"What were you and Michael talking about? It looked intense."
"It was," Mia said, immediately regretting it. "I mean, it wasn't. We were just takling about, um… Josh. And what a jerk he is."
"Oh. Well if Richter gives you any trouble tomorrow just let me know. Or Michael. And we'll sort him out for you."
Mia nodded. Sometimes she hated her older brother for being so protective of her, but at other times she was grateful for it. Like now.
She didn't know how she felt about Michael being protective of her. But then she supposed he was just looking out for her as an older brother. It's not as if Michael looked out for her for any other reason.
Michael walked back into his quiet apartment. His psychoanalyst parents always went to bed early, so Michael was all by himself. This was how it usually was for him, which is why he spent so much time at Dean's.
Michael often wished he had a brother or sister, although he knew if he did they'd just get on his nerves. Like Dean was always complaining about Mia.
Mia was like a younger sister to Michael too. He felt a certain protectiveness over her, and when Josh had used her at the dance, Michael had just wanted to kill him.
But the way Michael really felt about Mia, when he truly admitted it, which he never did, was not the way a brother feels about his sister.
He didn't know why, but he'd always been drawn to her; he'd always felt a connection.
"That's absurd," Michael said to himself, dismissing his feelings, like usual. He never admitted it to anyone, let alone himself.
If he told Dean, he'd get a beating. And if he told Mia he'd be humiliated and then he'd get Dean's beating too.
So Michael kept his feelings to himself. If that.
Don't worry, I won't forget about posting HTGT. I'm multi-talented and can multi-task. Which is good for you guys.
