I would like to dedicate this story to my friend Kae who was an awesome inspiration to this monstrosity. Please don't take this pairing too seriously, even I don't take it that seriously! Trust me, if you knew the craziness this story was birth from, you'd wonder what type of friends I have. They are awesome people by the way, and you wish you were as cool as they are!

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this unconventional couple as much as I do!

An Atypical Girl

Michelle has always been just a tiny bit strange, just a little bit. By now, she totally accepts it and doesn't let it bother her. It's not like she can do much about it nowadays away. So yeah, maybe she prefers coconut water to regular water, and no, it's not her attempt to be hipster chic. The coconut water reminds her of her home and she probably won't drink water otherwise because it has no flavour. It's an islander thing, people! Maybe she prefers swimming at the beach to trying to learn the right way to apply makeup. So what if she could just as easily pick tomatoes or chase chickens around her friend's farm over looking up fashion trends. Michelle isn't afraid to get her hands dirty and prefers sometimes the quiet country life, a simple life, to high fashion and fruity lip-gloss. Not to mention her eccentric older brother, Francis, who probably is hands down, the most influential person in her life. Her brother has a bit of a reputation, to the point that bringing female friends home from school never really worked. Either they knew of her brother and had a major crush on him, or Francis 'introduced' himself and they would just beg to stay a bit longer. Michelle was never mad at him for it; she loves her brother and preferred hanging out with him and his older friends to the petty people in middle and high school. They love having her around too, and maybe, just maybe, that was the start of her other little quirk.

It's all Francis' fault really. Michelle used to watch him get ready in the mornings. Being five years older than her, he'd developed his own routine of grooming himself for hours, even down to counting his sprays of cologne (one on his left wrist, two on the back of his neck). Her brother was never shy when giving her dating advice either or explaining why he did certain things. Sometimes, she really wished he didn't go into so much detail about his escapades. Naturally, with such a high standard of man before her, Michelle couldn't be bothered with the petty guys in her own class. They were too immature, too hairless for her taste. Plus, she had the absolute biggest crush of Francis's friend Antonio. Ah, Antonio, he was so just perfect from his cheery smile to the way he would ruffle her hair and even, to her secret pleasure, pull her ears (he did that quite a lot). Not to mention that he always brought her snacks and Michelle is nothing if not a total fatty and would eat just about anything. Maybe because, unlike her brother, her cooking skills stop at making toast, toast sprinkled with cinnamon when she's being fancy. But Antonio always bought her churros and they would eat them with Francis and Gilbert.

Of course, she liked Gilbert too in his own way. But the albino scared her. Not because of the way he looked, or even acted, there was just something about him that made her feel really small. Gilbert, even though he was the oldest of the group, wasn't the tallest (Francis took that crown) or even very muscular though he had muscles, but Gilbert took up space. Like, she knew when he was in the house. Michelle could feel him on her skin because he carried this massive wave of restless energy that took up more room than his physical form ever could. She figured he would need a stronger girl than her to control all of the restlessness.

Antonio though, the sweetest Spaniard she ever meet, who sang her Spanish songs while he played his guitar. Antonio, who could in one minute be kind but in the next be very protective should anyone try to hurt her feelings or do her wrong. Antonio, who lounged around their house without a shirt, taking siestas on the couch in loose khaki shorts and flip-flops. Yes, the Antonio Carrideo who was the first boy she ever kissed. No, it wasn't in some weird paedophilic way because he wasn't like that at all. Francis was there and so was Gilbert and Antonio was just trying to help her because Michelle had never kissed a boy before and was scared because she was going on her first date. He suggested they play the pocky game with churros so she could practice. Some might say it was totally unconventional and unacceptable that a thirteen year old girl would play such a game with an eighteen year old boy, even more so with her brother there also offering tips on how she could take that churro from Antonio's lips. They would be right too, but Michelle has long since accepted that she is 'unconventional'. Kissing Antonio at least three times before switching to play the game with Gilbert (he totally bit her!) said it all. But it worked and both friends approved that she mastered the art of kissing and now Michelle can boast of being a greater kisser in her older years.

That's what brings her to position she's currently in as a twenty-year-old who has a fondness for older men, particularly tanned ones with a cheery disposition (like Antonio), body and facial hair who smelled nice (like Francis) and a certain aura of self-assured confidence that drew everyone's attention whether they want it to or not (like Gilbert).

Yes, Michelle Laroche Bonnefoy is a very atypical, unconventional girl in a seemingly atypical, unconventional relationship but what would you expect from a girl who was practically raised by a group of friends affectionately calling themselves 'The Bad Touch Trio'.

Michelle was bound to come out a little off and she's totally okay with that.

That's it! Chapter one with four more to go, maybe five. We'll see! Let me know what you think. This is my first time doing Seychelles or Ancient Rome so, you know, yeah! Your input would be awesome!

-CeCe ^_^