Chapter 4: Across the Room

Across the room your silhouette starts to make its way to me...

Superman. She called him Superman. It was the very first time they met. Michael had gone to L.A. over the summer after his final year of college. He used to be really close to his cousin Brook Lynn, and they made it a point to see each other whenever they could. Fresh from his college graduation, he wanted to get out and have a little fun with his favorite cousin before the corporate world reeled him in for good. He was excited to go to California, even though Brook warned him that she wouldn't be able to spend too much time with him outside of the studio, but he looked forward to just leave home for a while. The last thing he expected was to meet the love of his life.

It was cheesy, maybe even overdramatic, but it was true. And he wasn't a closeted romantic who just made up this whole thing in his head. He knew what he felt was real.

He walked up to the building that Brook had a car bring him to, surprised at how big the place was. No matter how many times he saw his cousin on television or heard her on the radio, he could never get over what a big star she was. He was impressed. He was proud. Others in the family (namely Brook's grandmother, Tracy) wished she would have pursued a different—a.k.a. "more respectable"—career, but Michael was her biggest fan.

After being patted down at the entrance, he was once again searched by security when he got inside the building. His name was checked on a computer and he was given a pass and directed to a small set of stairs and a hallway that would lead him to the studio Brook was working in. He walked to the stairs, and that is when his life changed.

A young woman who was reading a notebook was coming down the hallway, not paying attention to where she was going. Michael saw the tragedy in his head before it happened. She was about to keep walking and take a misstep once she got to the stairs. Without thinking, Michael jogged to the stairs and was right on cue to catch her as she tumbled forward.

Then he was frozen, holding this stranger in his arms. She looked up at him in a stunned expression, with the most beautiful eyes he'd ever seen, hidden behind a pair of glasses.

"Oh, my goodness! Sorry. Wow, thanks for the save."

"No, I...it's—it's nothing, really," he stammered.

"No, seriously, you just saved my life. If I had broken anything, I would be in so much trouble."

Michael didn't say anything. He nodded his head and stared. She was just so...

She looked down at his arms, which were still around her. "You know, you're a lot stronger than you look, Superman."

He then realized that he was still touching her—clutching her, really—and quickly let go. "Uh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

"Mikey!" Brook called from the top of the stairs. "What are you doing out here? The fun's inside."

She made her way down the stairs. "I see you met my buddy, Starr. This is my little cousin, Mikey," she introduced.

Michael cringed. Little? Mikey? She might as well have been introducing Starr to a little kid.

"Oh, so this is the favorite cousin I've heard so much about. Well, I hate to fall and run, but I have an appointment I'm already fifteen minutes late for. It was nice to meet you, Mikey."

"You too," he said, offering her his hand to shake. Starr looked at it like it was a foreign gesture and rolled her eyes. Then she held both of her arms out, ready to embrace him. As she surrounded him, he stood still in shock, letting his arms fall dead to his sides.

"Thanks again, Superman," she whispered in his ear. Then pulled away and turned to Brook. "See you next week, chick?"

"You know it." She gave Starr a kiss on the cheek and waved goodbye as she walked away.

Michael watched after her, her high ponytail bouncing as she walked away. She looked back and smiled, blonde locks falling on her face.

"Mikey? You okay?"

He looked at his cousin. Was he okay? He wasn't sure what had just happened, but he felt a sort of shift in the air. He didn't know how else to describe it. But for the rest of his visit, his thoughts were consumed with her. Her eyes, her hair, her smile, her voice, her scent—lavender and vanilla he later discovered on a feverish search for a similar perfume—were all ingrained in his memory.

When he first met her, he thought maybe it was simply lust, or curiosity; to him, she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever met, and he was just a small-town nerd. But when he met her, even though it was for a brief moment, he felt like this was the one thing he'd always felt he was missing in his life.

Even after returning to Port Charles, though, he thought of her constantly. When he found out that she was an up-and-coming musician, he searched the internet for her music. He downloaded her songs and listened to them repeatedly. If anyone else knew the lengths he went through just to have this virtual stranger in his life.

It was an understatement to say that he was pleasantly surprised to see her at his family's charity ball (hell, it was a surprise to even see Brook there). He watched her pretty much since the moment he saw her there. She remained at Brook's side for the most part, giving him an excuse not to approach her (he wanted to make a lasting impression on Starr; he didn't need his cousin embarrassing him again). So he waited anxiously for an opening. Between Brook zigzagging Starr around the rooms and "family friends" stopping him to check in on his family or his job, those openings were very limited.

When she finally looked at him, he looked away like the awkward teenager he thought he left behind (really, who was he trying to kid? He was that person until a few months ago). He continued taking to one of his colleagues from E.L.Q. about a recent board meeting. Still, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. And it seemed the feeling was mutual. Whenever he looked her way, she was still watching him. Then he saw her roll her eyes at her phone, and look back at him. The adorable small act put a smile on his face. He decided that now was the right time.

He excused himself from the conversation he was in and walked towards her, confident as he held her gaze. But of course, she looked away and at his cousin.

Damn Brook Lynn.

He considered interrupting them anyway, but was once again pulled into a conversation with another coworker. He disliked discussing the stock market as much as any typical young man, but he was particularly desperate to get away and find Starr.

Of course, by the time he weaseled his way out of hearing yet another boring detail and to the bar, she was being pulled away by Brook. She looked back at him with an apologetic look, and he gave a small smile back. He was convinced by now that the universe is trying to send him a message: he and Starr were a no-go.

He decided to nurse a scotch on the rocks (he didn't like alcohol, nor was he old enough to drink, but everyone pretty much gave him whatever he asked for). He took a sip and looked around the room again. Starr was nowhere to be seen. He contemplated going on a search, but then decided that if the fates were kind, they would bring her to him. So, he waited.

He didn't have to wait too long, though, before he was looking into those beautiful eyes again. He saw her stop and look at him. The expression held in her shiny eyes reminded him of someone finally finding something she'd lost long ago. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't stop the smile that came as lightness overcame him at the sight of her.

She walked closer to him, and it was like something out of a movie, and he would swear she was growing more beautiful every second. And just when it seemed more impossible that she could be any more breathtaking, she smiled at him.

There was so much he wanted to tell her in that moment—that she was more than beautiful, perfect beyond words, just the woman for him—but the words wouldn't come out.

"Superman," she said.

"You remember?" he asked incredulously.

"I remember."

"Wow, I...I guess I just wasn't expecting you to even recognize me."

"I didn't."

Michael looked at her quizzically.

"I didn't recognize you. I noticed you, though. Brook told me who you are, and I remembered that you saved my life a while ago."

"Ah, 'saved your life' might be stretching it a bit."

Starr giggled, and then turned a shade darker in embarrassment at the cute act, he supposed. "Maybe. But you certainly made an impression on me."

"Well, please allow me to replace that impression with a new one. Would you like to dance?"

"Just dance?" she asked with a teasing smirk.

"Yes, just dance. For now."

Michael held out his arm to lead Starr to the dance floor. When she touched his hand, he was certain he felt sparks. He looked at her to see if she'd felt it, too. If her happily stunned face was any indication, she had.

Just a dance, for now, but Michael saw a lifetime of Starr in his future. He didn't want to get ahead of himself, but, looking into her eyes as they danced to a slow song, he couldn't help feeling that she saw the same.

Up next, Robin and Patrick