PART 2 - Occurrence

PART 2 - Occurrence

"Hurry up Iz!"

"I'm coming Ma– Michael?" Isabel asked confused. What in the world, make that the universe, was her school-hating brother doing up?

"Yes it's me, so?" Michael shrugged entering Isabel's room.

"Where's Max?"

"He's already left–"

"Shit. What time is it?" Isabel hurried around her room, she should have known she was late if Michael was calling her to hurry up.

"You're not late Iz." Michael said amused. "After our lecture last night about Liz he left early, still grumpy as hell."

"Oh. Listen, you don't have to go so early, I'll just take my car–"

"NO. Um… I mean, I'm going now anyway. Thought I'd go early for once, see if Welles looks as good as he does in the morning as he does in the afternoon." Michael said hurriedly lifting Isabel's bag and heading out the door.

"Aren't we keen, It's all coming clear now why no *girls* have ever interested you before." Isabel laughed as she followed him out.

*~*~*

"Well class, seeing as though we have a double today I thought we'd actually do some group work." Mr Welles began as the class settled. "We've covered histories of some places and famous people, but today we are going to do a more internal history in pairs. We are going to do our own personal history as individuals. For an extra treat I thought we'd go outside, I'll divide you into pairs on the way out, I don't want any friends to be together."

Entering through the door Isabel heard her name grouped with Alex Whitman's, and Max's with Liz Parker. That was a worry. So with a troubled look on her face which Alex thought was the cause of having to work with him she left the room with Whitman a step behind. Isabel wondered who Michael had been paired with and smiled at the thought of him being paired with the outspoken friend of Parkers. Another expression Alex caught upon her beautiful face.

*~*~*

"You've got to be kidding me." Maria muttered sitting down under a tree in the schoolyard.

"Let's just get this over with." Michael looked down at his sheet covering his hidden smile.

"As fast as possible." Maria agreed. Looking down at her sheet she asked, "Name?"

Michael who had assumed she would have found out his full name within minutes of meeting him smiled (but was also strangely disappointed) at the discovery. "They call me Arse." He smirked.

Maria just nodded and wrote 'arse' down. "I thought so." She replied deadpan.

Grinning at her nerve he asked what he full well knew the answer to. "Name?"

"Maria." She stated quickly.

"I need a last name as well." He said raising an eyebrow.

"You didn't give me one." She countered.

"Evans." He replied running a hand through his hair.

"Arse Evans." She said writing slowly on her paper.

"Yours?" He asked amused.

"Guerin." She replied softly.

Michael wrote it down and quickly said, "Okay birthplace?"

Maria just stared at him and Michael felt strange, he was being studied.

Michael took this opportunity to try and figure out the unfamiliar vibes he was getting from this girl with big bright eyes. It was like the vibes were saying 'this is dangeriously enjoyable… back away now!'

"Um… Aurora, Colorado. Yours?"

"In the desert." Michael replied honestly distracted by the sudden realisation of her close proximity.

"Could you be more vague?"

"Just say Roswell." Michael replied annoyed at how easily he had been un-focused.

Taken back by his harshness (which he had immediately regretted) she asked softly, "Parent names?"

"Phillip and Diane. Yours?" Michael asked his tone gentler.

"Henry and Amy." She replied.

"Maiden name for your mum?"

"DeLuca." She replied looking away, Michael thought he had caught a touch of sadness in her voice, but it was masked quickly when she continued. "Look this is stupid, let me just fill out your sheet and you can just fill out mine, we'll swap at the end of the lesson; so we can write it out before tomorrow's class."

"Okay." Michael said swapping the papers. He admitted to himself that he was dissatisfied she had wanted to do it this way, but glancing down at the questions, he realised this was probably a good way of doing the project. Verbal contact with this girl seemed to get him more heated then he'd like to admit.

Glancing up at her he saw her deep in concentration chewing on her bee-stung lips. Michael had glanced up in fact so often that he had only done half the questions by the time the bell had rung. Saying he would finish it and give it to her at the Crashdown after school he raced away to splash cold water on his heated face.

*~*~*

Saying he would go to the Crashdown with Max after school brought Max's defences up. "Michael, I'm not going to ask her out, I'm not letting anyone in, can you and Isabel just drop it."

"Max I'm not coming with you to be a bloody babysitter, Iz took my car to go to Courtney's and I need to go to the Crashdown to give that Maria girl her history sheet, so just shut up and get in the car." Michael said gruffly sitting down in the passengers' seat of Max's car.

*~*~*

Giving Maria her sheet appeared to be a harder task then Michael had first thought. It wasn't because the place was packed (it was in fact the opposite). The fact was that Michael had made up on the way over a million first sentences to engage her in a longer conversation and was trying to choose the most witty, smart one (and to his own mind he had many of them).

Michael didn't however get a chance to use any of them. Maria simply walked over handed him his sheet and took hers from it's place on the table and said, "Well, um thanks." Leaving so quickly that all Michael could do was dwell on his missed opportunity because of his silence.

"We should probably go then." Max said seeing as though the exchange had happened and fearing that a moment longer looking at Liz would crumble the last of his control that he builds up every night to stand looking at Liz the next day without going over to her.

Getting up to pay the check Michael glanced at Maria who had been looking in his direction. Glancing away quickly when their eyes met she continued her conversation with Alex and Liz at the counter. The fact that she had been looking at him made Michael for the first time in his life try and think back to what he had been doing to know how he would of looked to her.

"That's a bloody lie you bastard! I was never fucking there!" I man roared from a table. Breaking Michael's grin that had appeared on his face after he had realised that the important part was that she had been looking not the way in which he looked when she had done it.

The other man with the man who had shouted stood steadily, his face shaking in unconscious rage. "You arsehole, I saw ya you cunt!"

With that the man pulled a gun and the other ducked as it was fired. "LIZ!" Maria screamed as the men bolted from the diner. Michael saw it all in slow motion: Max running to Liz, by her in an instant; Maria and Alex falling to their knees… Michael's body shook and he dashed after Max. Upon realising what Max was about to do Michael told the other couple in the restaurant to call an ambulance while ushering them back.

As Maria cradled her friend's head in her lap tears streaking down both their faces. Alex was pale as he clutched Liz's hand for dear life, wiping the trail of Liz's tear that had fallen down her ear. "Liz look at me." Max pleaded softly materializing suddenly at the threes side. "I need you to look at me."

Opening her eyes Liz held on by looking into Max's eyes. "Max." She breathed sharply as he made the connection. Max healed her in an instant. As soon as the last traces of flashes which had flooded his mind went Max got up shaking from the terror, which had filled his body and felt the sudden tug of Michael's arm on his.

"Don't say anything." Michael said looking pleadingly at the three stunned teenagers, pulling Max away.

Tbc…