ros/hp.ch1

"Have I told you how beautiful you look today?"


"Yes, but just for fun you can tell me again"

"You see Micheal, that's how NORMAL couples act!".

Maria was growing more and more impatient with Micheal every day. 

"He shows his sweet side, and makes those puppy dog eyes every time I even get close to walking away, but I have to walk away first," Maria thought bitterly to herself. Micheal rolled his eyes not even glancing at her.


"Well you look gorgeous" said Max.

Liz smiled and turned back to Maria. She glared at Micheal. Couldn't he ever show any emotion? Where was the Micheal that Maria talked about at their sleepovers? She had heard about the times at Micheal's apartment when he had comforted Maria after she'd gotten into a fight with her mom; or when Maria had had a bad day, she would find a single rose in her locker.

So where was that Micheal now?


*Ok now I've been here for almost two hours watching Liz and Max make googly eyes at each other, while I have the Rebel without a Cause here sitting next to me---*


"--I want to go" Maria finally said out loud.

Micheal looked at her with an unreadable expression.

"Fine" he said "Let's go".


Max dropped Maria and Micheal off at her house.

"Oh Lordy, I swear!" cried Maria as she pulled out her keys to the front door.

"What are you babbling about now?".


"What?! You, you-- arggh! I'm not even going to try!"


"What's your problem? I went out in public with you didn't I? I told
you I'm not wonderful, mushy, gaze-into-your-eyes Max."


"I'm not asking you to be! I just want you to… to at least pretend to be my
boyfriend for like 5 seconds!"


"Well maybe I have other things on my mind, like oh I don't know… trying
to find a way back to my planet that's been enslaved by an alien race!!"


"AARRRRRGGHHH!! Fine. I'll see ya around" yelled Maria one last time,
before slamming the door in his face. She stomped all the way to her room,
slamming that door too. Looking out the window, she could see Micheal
walking across her lawn.


Micheal went into his room and collapsed onto the dingy mattress he
called his bed.

*Why does Maria always have to be like this* he wondered.
He was always scared that one day she wouldn't be there waiting for him whenever he walked away. He knew she wished he WOULD be more like Max was around Liz. Time and time again he'd told her that he couldn't be Mr. Wonderful.

The fact was that she'd given her all to him, she'd risked being hurt emotionally and physically over and over again.


And over and over again, he'd let her down.


"Hey girly!" said Liz as she hooked her arm around Maria's. Maria just
rolled her eyes and opened her locker.

"Micheal?" asked Liz smiling sympathetically. Maria nodded shoving

her biology book into her bag. She turned to Liz.


"Sometimes I wish that I had never met Micheal... no wait, I take that back.
I wish that things weren't so complicated, ya know. That they'd just be...
normal"
Liz thought about it for a second.

"Define normal" she said.

"Hmm.. normal. No aliens, no FBI, no evil skins, no stupid destinies, or
most of all, just to be able to hang out and live our lives without having to
look over our shoulders just to make sure that we're… safe" said Maria
shutting her locker and turning to head off to class.

Micheal leaned against the cold hallway wall. He shouldn't have heard
that. Maria wants to feel safe.

*Safe isn't something I can give her, I can't give her NORMAL*

Micheal decided then and there what he was going to do.