a/n: what if Mia and her mom let her dad pay for rent. What if they lived in the same apartment building as the Moscovitz? What would happen? And I swear that the comment about Sean Hunter has noting to do with my personal feelings.
Ever since I could remember everything that was big happened when I was at the Moscovitz's apartment across the hall way from my mom's and mine. Lilly and I meet the first day we moved in. My mom had finally let my dad pay the rent for a nice apartment in a very nice building. I had my own room and bathroom in the old place and I did in this apartment but this one was nicer and we had a guest bed room, not that we have many guest. I was just putting all my posters of kitties and puppies up when a girl about my age came into my room. She had a pug face and was wearing a shirt that said "Hell No We Won't Go" which could be considered strange for a girl of our age. She told me that she wore it to simply state her and her brother's protest on the fact that their parents were making them go see their grandparents in Florida during their winter break but I really didn't see that that could be as bad as being with Grandmere. I mean really at least she got cookies out of the deal.
The girl stuck out her hand and said, "I'm Lilly and if we are going to be friends you can't have those," she pointed to my posters. So then we began taking off the posters. She started talking about this girl who had a body guard at the park the other day. She said she was weird and then she went on to talk about the false belief that the pop culture world was causing on girls that they had to be thin and beautiful. I simply nodded and made a mental note to not show her my Backstreet Boys poster that I had been about to put up before she got there. Then we walked over to her apartment for lunch and that's when I saw, for the first time, the love of my life. I mean I didn't know it at the time because I thought all boys had cuties and would give them to us girls. Well anyway when I meet him he was standing on the kitchen counter in only a rain coat and his pajama pants (I later learned it was dare of Lilly's). He had brown hair that stuck out everywhere that caused me to hate him for it and he had brown eyes that seemed so ordinary. Once I got there he hoped off of the counter and ran into his room where he spent the remainder of the day setting himself up for the rest of his life really.
Let's get back to the main point of the story. The first major thing that happened was that I was there when I learned my dad had cancer. My mom didn't want me to have to come home but I mean come on do I really need my best friend and her older brother knowing all of my business? I really didn't want Michael to know because he was cool and he was in high school. My mom let me discover this on CNN which I really didn't understand why my dad was on there but I mean he was important to Genovia being a major politician. I turned red and Lilly just changed the channel while Michael looked from the TV screen to me. I really didn't understand what that was about but he told me later. I guess he really was as smart as he said he was. It was right about that time when I found out about my dad's cancer that I discovered my true feelings for Michael.
It was 7 years since we had moved in and I was about 12 going into the 7th grade. I had become a fixture in the Moscovitz's family and Lilly had become a fourth member of the Thermopolis family, after Fat Louie of course. Lilly and I had become inseparable so much to the point that whenever someone thought of either of us you automatically thought of the other. Michael was now 15 but he was what Lilly called "A late bloomer". When she said this, she meant that he never went out on a date and he never so much as thought a girl was hot. I never minded that that much and I actually commended him for it. I had ended up staying at the Moscovitz's apartment for 2 weeks because my mom was going to an art show in Florida; I never understood why she didn't take me with her. Lilly had an appointment at "the doctor" as Michael would say but it would last a really long time so I would just be in the apartment by myself or so I thought. Michael came out that day and hung out with me. We watched a Star Wars and we ate lunch. He kept looking at me at the parts at which you are supposed to laugh and check to see if I was laughing. I thought that was kind of cute and then I realized that the hair that had once aggravated me was know perfectly… messed up, staying in his eyes most of the time since he was in a need of a good hair cut. And his eyes the just kind of sucked you in. He sat there in his high school perfection an older unattainable man. And then I remember that that was the most fun I had ever had and then I realized I liked someone who I told everyone that I thought of as a brother. This couldn't be happening to me! I was Mia these things never happened to me. And besides it was as if Michael would ever think of me like that I mean I'm his annoying little sister's best friend. I wouldn't be able to tell anyone because if this got out I would be on the chopping block. My best friend wouldn't like me anymore. How could this happen? I was perfectly content with my crush Sean Hunter from Boy Meets World. Now my world is going to be completely changed. But then again he did do things that could be… considered crush-like acts.
The next thing was that I found out I was a princess here because it was on CNN (CNN is the bringer of all bad news I swear to God) and that just so happened to be what Michael, my Michael, wanted to watch. I wanted to die right there because Michael and Lilly gave me a crazy look as if I were responsible for who my mom choose to sleep with and the fact that she is so fertile. I was hurt and I was looking for an escape but I couldn't find one. I was driving myself crazy and I didn't even know how to stop it. I was blushing and stayed red for like a week. I'm serious, some lady on the subway asked me if I had gotten a really bad sun burn and that just made it worst. But Michael just said that he knew since the day he had found out about my dad and his…handicap.
And then the biggest is happening right now. I, Mia, 15 years old, princess, skinny, 5'9", with feet the size of small boats, flat chested freak am going to be a big sister. I had to stay here instead of going to the hospital because my mother's pregnancy is very complicated and she and Mr.G don't want me to see that. I'm sitting at the Moscovitz family table and waiting for my cell phone to ring. I can't wait to see my baby brother or sister. Oh My God! My phone is ringing!
Ok, the baby is… I don't even know how to say this. He was born at 3 pounds and 4 ounces. They don't know if he is going to make it. My mom gave in to Mr.G and is allowing the baby's name to be Rocky. Maybe that is the best name for him since he'll have to fight to be here tomorrow. I'm so worried about him. I still can't go see him. I'm going to drive myself insane.
(A/N Mia's POV but she isn't writing anymore)
"Thermopolis? You in there?"
"Michael, yeah I'm in here. Um, just a second," I said gathering my journal and looked at myself in the mirror over the sink. The tear stains weren't so bad, barely even noticeably if you weren't really looking.
"Hey," he said as I walked out the bathroom with his arm against the door frame all his weight against the door. I saw a small smile creep its way across his face until he looked at me more carefully and then it vanished. "What's wrong?"
"Um, nothing just you know I'm worried about my baby brother," as I said this he dropped his arm around my waist and pulled me into him. He fingered my shirt (a "Hell No We Won't Go" shirt I earned after being in the family for so long). His hand stayed on my back for a while and I felt his warmness come into my cold body. His head rested on my shoulder and mine on his. He pulled me to where I was standing on my tip toes just to reach his shoulder but I felt as if he were giving me all the support I would ever need.
"It'll be okay Mia. Everything will be okay." Mia? He never calls me Mia. It seems so odd.
"I'm not sure," I muttered into his sweater. I could smell detergent on his clothes and I felt all of his muscles in his shirt underneath. His arm started to go up and down on my back. I was thinking the whole time that if I were anyone remotely attractive this would have been a good time for a guy to see if I had a bra on but I'm not attractive so what would be the point.
"Come on let's take your mind off of it." He guided me into his room and put me on his bed. Again if I was attractive this might have been something that our families would worry about but I'm ugly and so I'm allowed in his room alone with him. That might also be because the Drs. Moscovitz see me as much of a daughter as Lilly having even invited me to Florida with them to see Mama and Papa Moscovitz. He started to play a song for me and I'm not talking about on the radio but with a guitar and everything which I had never seen up until know even though I had been in his room multiple times because of the whole brother sister relationship we shared. It was really good though. It was about a girl who never got anything even if it was right under her nose then this guy who is really close to the girl falls for her. He tries to make her see but he can't. That's when I realized that Michael likes me. Well I got that when ever Michael said that the girl was famous and the guy lives next door neighbor. When he was done Michael looked up from the strings on his guitar.
"What did you think?"
"I think I'm not that clueless," I rasped turning red by the second. "Michael I- I love you too." That's when he got up and pushed me back on his bed and started making out with me. He's body reassured me of everything that was happening would be okay. He held one hand on my waist and the other finding its way to the bottom of my t-shirt causing goose bumps all of the way up. I didn't tell him to take it away or anything but it did feel strange. But then he stopped right before he got to my bra and looked at me with those eyes and I reached for his lips giving him permission to search my lack of breast. His hand seemed quite fond of then though even if they weren't much to feel.
Michael started to nuzzle my neck and then he said, "I'm glad you're the girl next door."