Wow, it's been four months since I updated. I'm ashamed really :P. Sorry for the long wait, but I've just been so busy with finals and then there was graduation and my summerjob ended up being a lot more work than I thought. I had some problems also with how to get Michael and Liz together. I haven't written romance before and I didn't really think that big romantic gestures suited Mi/L in this story. I hope you'll enjoy reading it and please review!

Chapter Fourteen

Affaires De Coeur

Affairs Of The Heart

"Stop doing that Liz!" Isabel says as she slaps my hand away from where it was fidgeting with some curly ringlets that fell along the side of my face. "It took me nearly an hour to put your hair up like that, if you keep touching it you'll ruin it."

"Sorry Iz." I sigh as I look at my appearance in her full length mirror, wondering for the third time if maybe Isabel had been right about my dress being too simple. It is not that I don't look nice, because I do and I still like the dress, but then I look at Isabel and suddenly my nice doesn't seem to cut it next to her gorgeous.

I swallow deeply when I realize I'm nervous before chastising myself for feeling that way. I have nothing to be nervous about. Michael and I are just going as friends, even if he did feel more than just friendly feelings for me, that doesn't mean that anything is going to happen. And if it did shouldn't I just feel glad about it?

"So, you and Kyle." I say as I turn back to Isabel. Nothing like the subject of your friends' love life to take your mind off of your own non existent one. I can't help but smile a little when I see Isabel's cheeks redden.

"He really likes you, you know." I tell her when she simply looks away but doesn't answer. "And I mean really likes you, Iz." I add when Isabel tries avoids my eyes.

"I-I know, Liz. I really like him too." I frown as I take in just how fragile her voice sounds, like she is about to cry. I hadn't meant to upset her, I simply wanted to tease her a bit and set up a few ground rules for tonight. We were supposed to go to the dance separately, but Michael has no transport except his motorcycle and dad needed the car tonight, so we decided that going together wasn't so bad after all, though Michael made me promise to tell his sister that if she was even remotely fond of Kyle they should make sure they didn't decide to play tonsil hockey anywhere within his line of sight.

"Izzie. Is something wrong?" I ask her uncertainly.

Isabel lets out a huge sigh as she sits down on her bed. "No…Yes. I don't know, Liz. I really like Kyle, more than I thought I ever would. We talk almost every day. He's great really, he makes me feel like I'm normal, you know. It's just that…" She trails off as she puts her head in her hands.

"It's just what, hon?" I ask as I sit next to her on the bed, putting my arm around her shoulders as I do so. At first I found it a bit strange just how fast Kyle and Iz's feelings were developing after he asked her to the dance, but I could see just how much happier Kyle had been these past few weeks and how much lighter Izzie sounded on the phone, as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders.

It seemed that weight decided to drop back down tonight with full force.

"It's just, Alex and I never really had a chance to ever really be together – and I know that's mostly my fault – and I just feel like being happy with one of his friends is betraying him somehow. And then I feel like I'm betraying Kyle too for feeling that way." She only just about finishes her sentence before she starts crying.

"Oh, Iz." I sigh as I hug her tightly. "Alex loved you. He wouldn't want you to stand still in life, he'd want you to move on and be happy. And Kyle knows how much Alex meant to you, he knows he'll always have a place in your heart, he'd never hold that against you."

"You think so?" She asks me uncertainly.

I nod, as I wipe the tearstains from her cheeks ."I know so." I tell her, Kyle told me so only a few days ago.

"Yeah?" She says as a tremulous smile appears on her face.

"Yeah." I say before sending her off to the bathroom to fix her make-up. Luckily it wasn't too badly smudged. Thank God for waterproof mascara.

"Are you alright?" I ask her as she re-enters her bedroom.

"Yes, I'm okay." She answers, still sniffling a little, before crushing me to her in a fierce hug. "Thanks Liz."

I smile against her shoulder. "You're welcome."

"If they play even one Britney Spears song, I am out of there." Michael informs us from the backseat of the car.

Kyle, Isabel and I laugh. "Duly noted." I tell him as I smile before looking back out of the window. I can still feel my cheeks burn a little from when Michael had told me I looked beautiful when we were waiting for Kyle to stop drooling over Isabel and start the car.

When we finally get to the gym we find that the homecoming committee had gone a bit overboard with the decorations, practically every inch of the hall is cover in silly string and colored paper wreaths. There are already a mass of people inside and the stereo boxes are blaring out a song from some cheesy boy band that I don't know the name of. They all sound the same, anyway.

"Alright, people." Isabel says, basically hopping up and down with excitement, "Let's dance."

I laugh as Kyle is completely caught off guard and almost trips over his own feet as Isabel drags him out to the dance floor.

"I was designed to be a soldier, Liz. I'm supposed to fight wars, not to know the foxtrot or the waltz or whatever, so if I step on your feet you can't hold it against me." Michael tells me as he turns to me with a slight smirk on his face.

I smirk back as he holds out his arm for me to take. "Yes Sir!" I say as I mock salute him before taking his arm and following him to an empty spot on the floor.

"Are you sure you're okay, Liz?" Michael asks me as we lean against the outer wall of the gym. About ten minutes into the dance my mind became flooded again with the emotions of what I can guess was almost the entire student body present in that hall.

"Yes, I'm alright. Just give me a minute." I tell him reassuringly. I had already sent Kyle and Isabel back inside, but Michael insisted that he'd stay with me.

"It's getting better, isn't it? I mean it seems as though it doesn't last as long as it used to."

I nod. "I'm learning to control it better. Hopefully I'll have enough control by the time we leave for college so I won't have any of these episodes anymore."

"That's good." Michael tells me, a frown marring his features, "I don't like seeing you in pain."

"It isn't the most enjoyable feeling in the world." I agree.

He chuckles. "Do you want to go back?" He asks.

"No." I say before grabbing his hand. "Let's go for a walk."

I sigh as I look around the deserted park, slouching a bit on the weathered wooden bench that we're sitting on. "I always liked this place." I tell Michael as my eye wanders over to the small playground on the left.

"Alex and I used to spend ages on those swings." I can feel a wistful smile forming on my face. "We used to bet candies on which one of us could get the highest."

"Yeah?" Michael simply asks. He has got that look on his face that he often gets when I talk about my childhood; curiosity and interest with just a hint of sadness.

"Mmmhmm." I say as I feel a real smile lighting up my face at the memory and I realize that it's the first time in the nine months since Alex died that I can think of him without hurting. "Alex was a bit of a geek, even at six years old, he called his swing the Enterprise."

I hear Michael chuckle beside me. "That sounds like him."

"I hated this place when I was a kid." He says after a few moments silence.

"Why?" I ask as I turn to watch him.

He shrugs and looks down at his hands. "I used to come here and watch all the happy families picknick and play, Max and Isabel too, and I was jealous. Hank wasn't exactly the father figure little alien boys dream of, you know. To me, this place represented everything I could never have and I hated it."

"I'm sorry, Michael." I whisper as I squeeze his hand. "Sometimes I wish I could just take all of that bad stuff away for you."

He doesn't answer, just simply squeezes my hand and smiles slightly.

"I know it's not the same as having a real mom and dad and growing up with them and everything, but you do have a family, you know. Kyle, Isabel and I a-and even sheriff Valenti, we're your family and you're ours. We love you, Michael. I-I love you."

Michael suddenly looks at me intently and I thank the lord that the lighting in the park is terrible as I feel my cheeks redden. That declaration sounded like at lot more than a simple statement of affection between friends.

"I-I meant that you – I – you…" I stutter flustered as I try to find the right thing to say.

Before I can Michael kisses me.

"Liz?" He asks me uncertainly after a few seconds.

"Uhuh?" I answer, still a bit stunned. Did Michael just kiss me?

"Are – Are you okay?"

"Uhuh."

"Liz! Stop using sound to answer and use your damn words!" He growls as he stands up, though I can hear the panic in his voice. "A-am I supposed to be apologizing now? Did – Did I read this situation wrong, don't you…You did kiss me back didn't you?" His voice sounds almost desperate now.

I swallow harshly past the lump in my throat. "Yes. I did." I say as I look up at him nervously while fidgeting with the hem of my dress.

"So you do…" He trails off as he sits down beside me again. I feel awfully comforted by the fact that he looks just as nervous as I feel.

I feel myself nodding before I can come up with the courage to speak. "Yes. I-I love you, Michael." I say before swallowing thickly. "Do – Do you…?" I ask around my heart, which is pounding loudly in my throat, now it's my time to look down at my hands.

I jump a little as I feel him pressing a light kiss to my temple, a gesture which he usually uses to give me some comfort when I'm upset. "I wouldn't have done it if I didn't, Liz."

"Yeah?" I ask hopefully as I turn to look at him again.

Michael gives me a slight smile as he gently bumps his shoulder into mine. "Yeah." He shrugs. " 'Course I love you, you're Liz Parker." He says as if that explains it.

I snort, but his words ease my anxiety.

"So..Now what?" I ask.

"Well, I'd kind of like to do that again, if that's okay with you." Michael teases, the tension that was there only a minute ago seems to have dissipated.

I smile, but gently push him back when he moves closer to me again. "No, I mean does this mean that we're t-together?" I ask, suddenly incredibly nervous again, which is stupid really, I know. Michael just told me he loved me, for crying out loud.

"Do you want to be?" He asks me.

I cast my eyes downward, feeling shy on top of nervous now. "Well, yes. Do you?"

"Yeah."

"So we're…?" I ask, the question clear in my voice.

"Yes. We're together." As Michael smiles at me I can feel my own smile stretching my face.

"Just promise me one thing, Michael."

He looks a bit worried now. "What, Liz?"

"If something went wrong- if we split up, for whatever reason –" Michael looks like he's about to interrupt, but I quickly cut him off. "I don't want that to happen, but you never know Michael, just look at Max and Maria. You have to promise me that we'd still be friends, Michael. Because I-I don't want to lose you, I just can't."

"You won't, Liz." Michael tells me as he puts his arm around my shoulder. "I promise."

We sit there half hugging each other before he speaks again. "So, can I kiss you now?"

I laugh before pressing my lips to his.

I smile as I listen to Isabel rambling on about the homecoming dance, perfectly content to just drive and listen to Isabel gush about her first real date with Kyle, while I drive her to the airport. I didn't like that she had to go already, just one day after the dance, but she had a term paper to get to. I had offered to drive, since Kyle and Michael had to work and they both needed the money.

"So, where did you and Michael get off to? We didn't see you again after you went outside."

I can already feel myself start to blush. "We uh- we went to the park."

"And?" Isabel asks with a hint of excitement in her voice, apparently my complexion had already conveyed that at least something happened.

"We kissed." I blurt out, though I have to laugh when Isabel starts squealing.

"Oh finally!" She screams, before hastily pulling out her cell phone and staring to type like a maniac.

I frown. "What are you doing?"

"Texting Kyle." She answers almost absentmindedly.

"To tell him what?" I ask, utterly confused. She called him not ten minutes ago to say goodbye.

"That he owes me ten bucks."

"Why?"

"We had a bet to see how long it would take you two idiots to come to your senses." Isabel says as she smirks at me and dumps her cell phone back in her hand bag.

"I won."

Okay, so that's it for now. Only three more chapters to go! My summer job ends in three weeks and after that I'll spend a lot of time to get out the last three chapters, because I want MTG finished before I go off to England for college so I can start the sequel to this story once I've gotten used to everything. It will be called Before I Sleep. Have a good holiday everyone!