Disclaimer - See part one.
Sex/violence/subtext - No, no, and NOT A CHANCE.
Feedback - All praise, constructive criticism and death threats can be sent to prue@xenafan.com
"What a wicked game to play
To make me feel this way
What a wicked thing to do
To let you dream of you…
…I never dreamed that I'd love somebody like you;
I never dreamed that I'd lose somebody like you…"
- "Wicked Game", Chris Isaak
Michael Bowman-Flavell - 3:57 PM
Two hours to go. In two hours I will meet my brother; someone who could turn out to be my best friend or my worst enemy. Someone who will probably start to play a rather significant part in my life. In just two hours, my life will change forever. But on the plus side, it's only two hours until I get to see Isabel again.
"Dad, you missed the turn again." Michael said impatiently. They had been silently driving through the streets of Carrington for the past twenty minutes, on their way to the airport, though with his father's lack of navigational skills, they weren't even half-way there. His mother seemingly didn't notice, as she continued filing her nails in the passenger seat, while his girlfriend, Isabel, located a reference map and began thumbing through it.
"Dad, have you spoken to Ethan yet?" Michael asked, once his father was back on the main road.
"No, I haven't." his father replied evenly. "Why?"
"Just curious." he said, turning away from his mother, who had put down her nail file and had apparently been awaiting a more elaborate reply. She didn't get one. Instead she turned on the radio, and flicked it to a classical music station.
"Mom!" Michael groaned. Was she trying to make this night even more torturous for him? His mother relented and turned it down a notch.
"Have you figured out where we're supposed to be going now?" he asked Isabel.
"Uh..yeah..." she replied, flicking through a few more pages of the refernece map.
"Mr Bowman-Flavell? I think you missed the turn again."
* * * * * *
"Gate 34...no, that's gate 33..." Isabel struggled to make out the faint gate numbers on the row of terminals, as they finally reached the arrival lounge of the Carrington Domestic. With Michael and his parents in tow, it almost reminded her of picking her stepfather up from business trips when she was younger.
"That's their flight." Michael announced, pointing to where a group of people were exiting the terminal, struggling to drag along heavy suitcases.
"There he is!" Michael's father cried, making his way towards a tall blond-haired boy, and motioning for the others to follow him. The boy's eyes widened as he saw Isabel, and suddenly he enveloped her into a huge bear hug.
"Isabel!" he cried.
Startled, Isabel pulled away, and it wasn't until she did so that she realized who it was.
"Oh my gosh..." she gasped. "Ethan? Is that-"
"Yeah!" he replied, and pulled her into another hug, which this time, she returned. "You look incredible."
"This is amazing." she said in disbelief, after pulling away. "I'm so sorry," she said, facing Michael and his parents. "We've probably ruined your whole reunion now."
"Not at all..." Michael's father said, still staring in disbelief at Isabel and Ethan. "How do you know each other?"
"We were a couple in junior high...Dad." he said, causing Michael's ears to prick up, not only at Ethan's explanation of how he knew Isabel, but also at what he had called their father.
Ethan's eyes misted over and he gave his father a huge hug.
"You must be my brother." he said, stating the obvious, as he turned to Michael. Before he could be caught in one of Ethan's ferocious hugs, Michael extended his hand and shook Ethan's, catching him by surprise.
"Hi." he said, with fake enthusiasm. While Ethan didn't seem like a particularly bad guy, Michael didn't get much comfort from staring into the face that had probably been plastered inside his girlfriend's locker throughout junior high. He couldn't help it - he was jealous.
Suddenly remembering his manners again, he turned to his mother, who had been standing against the back wall. "Ethan, this is my mom." Ethan smiled politely and shook her hand.
"Have you eaten yet, Ethan?" Michael's father asked, turning to his younger son.
"No, I couldn't stomach the airline food." Ethan confessed.
Wuss. Michael thought, rolling his eyes.
"Then what are we waiting for?" his father replied, smiling. "To Burger King!"
* * * * * *
Much later that night, Michael lay on his newly-made bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about what had happened that evening. They'd had a quick dinner at Burger King, then come home for coffee, where their housekeeper, Bella, had made a huge fuss over Ethan, pinching his cheeks and complimenting him on his good manners. Both his parents seemed to be in total agreeance, shooting glances at Michael as if to say "why can't you act like that?", while in the meanwhile, Ethan had hardly taken his eyes off Isabel, hanging on to every word she said, making Michael want to throw up. Yes, it had been a crappy evening.
"Hey Mike?" Ethan said suddenly, appearing in his doorway.
"Yes?" he asked irritably, moving into an upright position.
"Can I talk to you?" He almost reminded Michael of a little girl asking her older sister for love advice.
"Ethan, I'm really tired." he said pointedly, hoping that his brother would take a hint.
"It will only take a minute."
Reluctantly Michael gave in. "Yeah, okay. What is it?"
"It's about Isabel." Ethan started. Oh brother! thought Michael. This is what I get for trying to be nice to him?
"What about her?" he asked shortly.
"How do you feel about her?"
Good grief! Michael felt like screaming. How do you think I feel, you moron? Instead he replied simply, "I love her."
Ethan just nodded his head.
"This is what you came in to ask me?" he said in disbelief. "You wanted to know if I loved my girlfriend?"
Ethan nodded and stared at the floor. Leaning over to Michael's desk, he picked up a photo of his brother with Isabel, taken only a week or two ago. "She's really beautiful, isn't she?" he said softly.
Michael couldn't answer. He agreed whole-heartedly of course, he just couldn't let the words out. A wave of nausea rushed over him. Ethan had been here for about four hours, and already he had fallen in love with Michael's girlfriend. No, ammend that - fallen in love with his girlfriend again. He felt sick. If this was what brotherhood was going to be like, he wanted no part of it.
* * * * * *
To: a.wilson@pwh.zzn.com
From: i.carter@pwh.zzn.com
Subject: Guess what
Date: May 8, 10:54:07 PM EST.
Hey Ash,
You would NOT believe this. I went to the airport with Michael and his parents this evening to meet his brother, and you won't believe who his brother is! It's Ethan, you know, junior-high-boyfriend Ethan! Isn't that a weird coincidence? Mike doesn't seem too thrilled about having a brother, but I'm sure he'll get used to it soon. I'll give him a call tomorrow anyway.
Isabel
To: i.carter@pwh.zzn.com
From: a.wilson@pwh.zzn.com
Subject: RE: Guess what
Date: May 8, 10:57:49 PM EST.
YOU'RE KIDDING! Wow! I remember when you guys were going out in 7th grade and he kept getting you out of all those detentions you got for picking fights with Jolie (don't get me wrong though, she deserved it, even back then). Iz, try not to worry about Michael, he'll get over it soon. I'm sure he's not losing too much sleep over it!
~Ashley~
* * * * * *
Giving his pillow a light punch, Michael rolled over on to his back and struggled to get comfortable. It was two o'clock in the morning, and he still hadn't gotten to sleep after trying to stop himself from rushing into his brother's room and beating the crap out of him for even thinking about Isabel romantically. He could still hear Ethan snoring loudly and mumbling to himself in the next room, despite the fact that the walls were thick and their beds were on the opposite sides of the rooms. Angrily, he clenched his teeth and switched on his favorite U2 CD, trying to drown out his brother's snoring. Flicking past the first few songs, he settled on 'All I want is you' and began singing along softly, getting some comfort from the knowledge that it was Isabel's favorite song.
"You say you want, diamonds on a ring of gold;
You say you want, your story to remain untold;
But all the promises we make, from the cradle to the grave,
When all I want is you…"
* * * * * *
Isabel still held a feeling of contentment the next morning, as she sat at the kitchen table, sipping a cup of coffee. Her brother Lucas was sitting opposite her, clicking away on a laptop computer, with a plate of frozen waffles on the table beside him and a milk moustache across his upper lip. Lost in thought, she didn't even hear the phone ring as Lucas went to grab it, sending his pile of waffles flying across the table.
"Iz, it's for you." he announced, and picked a waffle up off the table and began eating it. Isabel shot him a look of mock disgust and grabbed the receiver from him.
"Hello?"
"Hi Isabel!" and enthusiastic voice answered. "It's me, Ethan."
"Hey Ethan. How are you?" She smiled.
"Great." he replied. "What are you doing today?"
"Nothing much." she said. "Do you want to do something?"
"Yeah, definitely. That bowling alley at the mall is still here, right?"
"Sure. What time do you want to meet?"
"In about an hour?" he asked.
"Then I'll see you guys then." she said and was prepared to hang up.
"Huh?" he answered.
"Isn't Michael coming?" she asked, confused.
"Oh yeah, sure." Ethan lied. "I'm kinda absent-minded today."
Isabel grinned. "I'll see you there then."
"Later, Iz."
Hanging up the phone, Ethan rested his head in his hands. Couldn't Isabel tell he just wanted to spend some time alone with her? Why did she instantly assume that Michael was included in his plans?
"Ethan, are you off the phone yet?" Michael interrupted, running a hand through his tousled dark hair, frowning sleepily.
"Yeah, sure." Ethan replied distractedly. "Mike, do you want to go bowling today?"
"Not particularly." Michael replied curtly. He knew Ethan wasn't really at fault, but he still didn't feel very kindly towards his brother after their conversation the night before.
"I already told Isabel you were coming."
"Oh, did you?" Michael replied, arching one eyebrow. Ethan just nodded his head.
"Fine. I'll come." If only to stop you from hitting on my girlfriend, he added silently.
* * * * * *
"Beat that!" Ethan cried triumphantly, pointing to the electronic scoreboard above their heads. It was pretty impressive - three strikes in a row.
They'd been at the bowling alley for just over an hour, and Michael was only just managing to control his temper around his half-brother. Not only had Ethan flirted with Isabel like crazy when they arrived, but he had been latching on to her like a leech all afternoon. He certainly wasn't happy with his brother at the moment.
"All right Isabel, your go." Ethan read from the scoreboard, reaching over to hand her a ball.
"Uh, it's okay, Ethan." she said, feeling a little uncomfortable. "I can get it myself."
"Sure." Ethan shrugged, sitting down again.
Taking aim, Isabel let the ball go, and watched it roll down the lane. It almost looked like it was going to be a gutter ball, but suddenly the ball began rolling towards the row of pins. Hitting the middle pin, it knocked every other one over. Grinning, Isabel punched her score into the keyboard of the scoreboard and flopped back down in her seat.
"Great shot Iz." Ethan said in admiration. "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Thanks." Trying to shrug off his compliment, she turned towards Michael, who, lost in thought, was absently staring at the refreshment bar.
"Hey, you okay Mike?"
"I'm fine." he replied, standing up. Suddenly overcome with emotion, he walked towards her and kissed her, winding his fingers through her hair, staring intently into her clear blue eyes.
She smiled. "What was that for?"
"No reason." he said, glancing back at Ethan. Catching the sad expression on his face, Michael almost felt sorry for him. But not quite.
Turning back to Isabel, he unwound his fingers from her hair, and went to pick up a ball.
"My turn." he announced.
* * * * * *
Later that afternoon, Isabel lay on her bed and sighed. Michael had been distracted all afternoon, and she had spent the past three hours trying to ignore Ethan's lovestruck glances and the flow of compliments which seemed to pour from his lips. She couldn't understand it. She thought she had made it clear when they broke up that she still wanted to be friends and nothing more, and she thought he felt the same. Now he was acting even worse than he was when they were dating. Her thoughts wandered back to Michael, and she wondered how he was feeling. Surely he must have noticed Ethan's behaviour. Suddenly a knock on her door interupted her thoughts, and Ashley bounched into her room.
"He Ash." Isabel greeted. "How'd you get in?"
"Basement window." she said and grinned. Catching the look on Isabel's face, she laughed. "Your mom let me in."
"Figures." Isabel replied. "I didn't even know she was home."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, she didn't know you were here either." Ashley shrugged. "How's your day been?"
"Just great." Isabel said sarcastically. "Ethan's started cracking on to me, and Michael's so distracted he's practically on another planet."
"Ethan's cracking on to you?"
"Yeah. Can you believe it, especially after all that 'let's-just-be-friends' thing we went through when we broke up?"
"Actually, I can." Ashley replied. "What took him so long?"
Isabel's only reply was to hit her over the head with a pillow.
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Ashley laughed, pushing the pillow away.
"What am I supposed to do?" she asked.
"Beats me." Ashley replied. "Wait for him to die of a broken heart?"
Isabel gave her friend an icy stare. "This is not funny."
"Oh I'm so sorry." Ashley said with mock sympathy. "It must be so hard to have so many cute guys in love with you."
"It's not like I'm encouraging him." she grumbled, and pushed her hair out of her face.
"Maybe you should just talk to him." Ashley suggested. "You never know, you just might get through to him."
* * * * * *
Ethan reached for the remote and turned off the TV. It was no good - everything reminded him of Isabel. He wished he could talk to Michael, but considering it was his girlfriend he was in love with, that probably wouldn't be a good idea.
"Isabel." he whispered, loving the sound of her name on his lips.
Why had he ever given up on her? Why did he think it couldn't work out? He still remembered the day he had left her, and left Carrington altogether. She hadn't cried like his other female friends did; just made him promise he would keep in touch.
He hadn't.
Impulsively, he picked up the cordless phone from the coffee table and dialed her number. After four rings, she picked up.
"Hi Isabel." he greeted her. "What's up?"
"Not much.' she replied. "What's going on?"
"I want to see you." he blurted out.
"Oh."
"Just you and me. Can we go out?"
"On a date?" she said uncertainly.
"No." he replied, hoping he hadn't just ruined his chances. "I just want to talk to you."
"Oh, okay." she said, relieved. "Where do you want to meet?"
"What was the name of that restaurant near the lookout?" he asked. "I haven't been there for ages."
"Diana's?" she asked.
"Yeah, that's it. Can I meet you there at seven?"
"Sure." Isabel replied. "I'll see you then. Bye." With that, she hung up.
Replacing the phone, Ethan smiled to himself. He had only one chance - he had to make this work.
* * * * * *
Isabel Carter 6:40 PM
I may be about to make one of the biggest mistakes of my life. Ethan has asked me out and I accepted. I don't know why, I guess just to stop this before it goes any further. I don't love Ethan. I'm not sure I ever did. (How are you even supposed to know what love feels like at thirteen anyway?) I just hope Michael doesn't find out about this and gets the wrong idea. I even tried to call him before to tell him, but Bella said he was out and she didn't know where he was. Even Ashley's not home to offer me support. I guess I'm on my own for this one.
Michael Bowman-Flavell 6:40 PM
I'm hiding. I know that sounds pathetic, but I am - I have to get away from Ethan. I told Bella I was going out, and now I'm sitting on a toolbox in the shed. Ethan was all flushed and dreamy-eyed the last time I saw him, and I hope it's not because of anything to do with Isabel. Then again, maybe he's just drunk; I wouldn't know. I thought about calling Isabel before, just to talk to her about Ethan, but thankfully I decided against it. I know I resent the fact that they're friends, but I wouldn't try to ruin that for them. I couldn't hurt Isabel like that, anyway. Wouldn't mind hurting that lousy excuse for a brother, though.
Ethan Williams 6:40 PM
Okay, I'm ready. I'm going to win her back.
To be continued in part three, "To have you back".