-Michael and I are now good friends. Today is his birthday, 'happy birthday to Michael!' ::laughing:: I just got back from his house. His mom is really nice, she and I made a cake for him… she reminds me of my mom. His little sister Jackie is a little annoying, but what sibling isn't. I'm sure Michael annoys her at times too.
Michael and I have grown closer to the extent that he and I tell each other anything. He told me that his father died when he was six. His dad was in the CIA and a mission had gone wrong. I would've hated to lose a parent like that…
Me and Michael have been hanging out a lot lately… his mom gave him hockey tickets for his birthday and there were two of them. She told him to bring a friend and she'd drive them. He chose me. ::I'm smiling right now::
"Hey Syd!" Michael called through the hallway. Making his way over to her locker, Michael pulled out a note from a teacher.
"Ok, so Mrs. Chery wants me to help you with your essay writing… and…" Sydney trailed off and pointed to the note he was holding.
"Oh." Michael jumped and looked down, reading. "Mr. Cook wants me to help you with Science and Math. And I decided that since were already doing that, then I should also help with French."
"Cool, nothing better then a French tutor teaching French." Sydney smiled as she slung her backpack over her shoulder. "We can go to my house… my dad is away on business and Theresa doesn't care."
Michael smiled as he took her hand and they both left the school grounds.
-Math, Science and French are my three worst subjects. I don't understand, cause I study and I work hard… but I need to have fun once and a while and not study. Well, that doesn't matter. Me and Michael are working on it. Since he's French and can speak it fluently it won't be that hard to study.-
"D'où êtes-vous?" 'Where are you from?' Michael asked slowly and carefully.
"Je suis américain." 'I am American." Sydney smiled as she remembered the answer. They were sitting on the floor with their books between them. Two French textbooks were open. One towards Sydney, one towards Michael.
"Good… how about…" Michael flipped through the text book and smiled. "Vous aiment l'hockey?" 'Do you like hockey?'
"Pas autant que vous." 'Not as much as you.' Sydney smiled and leaned a little closer.
Michael smiled and nodded, thinking about his next statement. "Vous avez les yeux les plus beaux que j'ai jamais vus."
"I don't know what that means, but I like the sound of it." Sydney smiled and closed her book, moving closer and looking at his upside down one. They were almost touching.
"Vous êtes un ange dans le déguisement. Je ne sais pas ce que je ferais sans vous." Michael whispered as Sydney looked up to face him.
"Translate it for me…" Sydney whispered as she leaned closer.
"Do I really have to?" Michael said right before she kissed him.
They stayed like that for a minute. Just kissing like there were nothing more normal for them.
"Sydney." Theresa called as she opened the door to Sydney's room.
Sydney scrambled up and sat on her bed as Michael leaned back to lean on it. "What, Theresa?" Sydney asked when she gained her breath again, making sure Theresa didn't notice.
"Dinner…" Theresa said as if it should be obvious. "Are you staying?" She eyed Michael like a hawk.
"No, I gotta get going." Michael grabbed his jacket and his backpack and turned to Sydney. "I'll see you in Gym tomorrow." He hurried out the door as quickly as Sydney had hurried to catch her breath.
"What's going on?" Theresa eyed Sydney, just staring and waiting.
"Nothing, I just… nothing… I'll be right there." Sydney stood up and shut her door. Going to the floor, she opened her French textbook again and looked up what Michael had said, even if she had to look up each word.
"Let's see…" Sydney wrote down the last word to the first sentence. "Vous avez les yeux les plus beaux que j'ai jamais vus. And that would mean…. You have the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen." Sydney stared at the page for a minute and then went on to the next phrase. "Vous êtes un ange dans le déguisement. Je ne sais pas ce que je ferais sans vous. And last but not least that means… You are an angel in disguise; I don't know what I'd do without you."
Sydney looked up quickly and stared at one of the pictures of Michael and her. It was at a picnic Michael's mom's work had held. His arm was around her shoulders and they were laughing. The green of his eyes had shone brightly each time he looked at her that day…
-We kissed. It sounds so weird to say that we kissed. Were like… well, were not like brother and sister… were best friends! I mean, yeah, since the first day I met him, I wanted to kiss him. And that French! God, he's even sweet when I can't understand him. I don't know what I'm gonna do when I get to school. I don't know if I want to ruin our friendship just so I can date him. Yeah, we'll still be friends, but what happens if we break up… then Francie will still be friends with him, but I could never hang out with him again.-
The next day during first period Earth Science, after telling Francie what he'd said and what had happened, Sydney started to think of what'd she say to Michael during gym.
She looked up just in time to see a boy walk into the classroom.
The teacher, Mr. Kenny, looked at the boy and took the paper that he had held out. "Okay, this is Will…" Mr. Kenny looked at the last name closely.
"Tippin." Will stated clearly and confident.
"Right, yes." Mr. Kenny waved over to Francie. "Take a seat next to Francie over there. You'll be partners with Francie and Sydney."
Francie waved him over and Will sat down next to Francie.
"I'm Francie as you've heard from the Suit." Francie smiled as Sydney made sure Mr. Kenny was out of hearing range.
"You must be Sydney." Will nodded to her and she nodded.
"And you're Will." Sydney smiled as Francie laughed.
"What other classes do you have?" Francie asked as Will took out his schedule. After he handed it over, Francie inspected it carefully. "Let's see… you have Lab with us, but that's only on Even days. You have Italian with me… Lunch with both of us and Gym with both of us." Francie handed it back.
"Cool." Will smiled at Francie and then to Sydney.
Sydney got a strange feeling when he smiled at her…
-Will is… nice. He's pretty cute and he's kind. But he's got this thing about asking questions all the time. I was talking to Francie about how David wanted to start a band and have me sing, and he asked who David was. I was talking to our friend Kelsey and we were talking about the dance that had been on Friday and he's like "dance?". There are more and more to come, I know, but it will get annoying… but Will is cool to hang out with. He's fun to talk to. We were all joking around in lunch and he complained about Global Studies to us and how the teacher was such an ass. I'm gonna like having him around.-
Gym came quickly that day, and since Will had just gotten his schedule that day, he didn't have any clothes to change into; he'd have to play in his jeans.
"Sydney!" Will called as Sydney and Francie walked into the gym. They waved him over to their spots and sat down quickly.
Francie looked at Will nervously though and leaned over to Sydney, whispering. "Here he comes, Syd. You ready?" And she leaned back up.
Sydney looked at Francie with a worried expression.
"Hey guys." Michael smiled softly to Francie and nervously to Sydney.
"Hey, Michael, this is Will Tippin, he's the new new kid." Francie smiled and put a hand on Will's shoulder. "Michael is the old new kid." She explained to Will.
"Yeah, you're in my English class right?" Will asked him. "Fourth period?"
"Yeah." Michael nodded and looked at Sydney. "Can I… talk to you?"
"Sure…" Sydney's voice trailed and as she stood up, she looked to Francie nervously, making sure Will and Michael didn't see.
"What's up?" Sydney said when they were out of hearing range of Will, Francie and the rest of the class.
Michael sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yesterday…" Michael started, but he didn't know what he wanted to say. Should he say it was a mistake and that they should just be friends. Or should he confess and say that he'd wanted that to happen ever since they bumped into each other on his first day.
Michael smiled softly and looked up at her. "Honestly I don't know what I was going to say…"
Sydney smiled and laughed quietly. Suddenly she got a little serious. "Listen, I want to be your friend, Mike. I want to be able to talk to you and to listen and to hang out… I don't know if I could do that if…"
"I get it." Michael interrupted. He seemed a little frustrated and confused, but before Sydney could say anything else, the teachers decided to start class.
-I could just scream right now! I didn't want that to happen, cause now I don't think we can be normal. You don't kiss someone and then say you want their friendship only.-
Two weeks passed, Christmas Day was a beautiful day, with sun.
Will, Francie, Sydney and Michael were the youngest at a Christmas party Sydney's father had thrown.
"I swear, he does these things, just to prove that he's normal." Sydney muttered so that only her three friends could hear.
"I'm gonna go get some sodas, you guys want any?" Will asked as he stood up.
"You want any help?" Michael asked, ready to help if he was needed. He had warmed up to Will after a couple of days and they were getting along fine… for now.
"No." Will shook his head and left into the kitchen, squeezing past the adults in his way.
"He's not gonna make it." Sydney laughed and followed after him.
After Sydney disappeared into the kitchen, Francie turned to Michael and snapped. "What's wrong with you?"
Michael jumped slightly, surprised at the sharpness of Francie's tone. "Excuse me?"
"I asked what was wrong with you?" Francie repeated. "Only someone who has severe head trauma (and I'm not ruling that out) would give up on getting Sydney." Francie looked at him, with a kind of look that said 'well!'.
"She doesn't want me." Michael sighed when he registered everything.
"Did someone drop you on your head when you were little?" Francie argued. "Of course she wants you. She just wants your friendship too." She was right of course. He already knew Sydney still wanted to be friends.
"Well then, tell me what I'm supposed to do." Michael leaned back on the couch so that he was slouching.
"Well, for one get your ass in that kitchen, pull her aside and tell her you want to be more then just friends." Francie put emphasis on the 'just' part. "I know Sydney well enough to know that she won't always make the first move. You have to this time…"
But Francie was cut off by Jacks' coworker Gina. "Sydney! You're under the mistletoe."
Sydney, who had just come out of the kitchen with Will, looked up with a confused expression and saw the small mistletoe that she was under. She looked over to Will and smiled nervously and unwillingly. Will leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. He seemed to know that she didn't want to kiss him.
Making their way back, Sydney thanked Will in a whisper. He just smiled and handed Francie her soda.
-Will knew I didn't want to kiss him. I don't know what else he knows, he could know more then he was letting off, but that's his way of life. I mean, come on, he takes Journalism! I know that Will has a small crush on me, but I would think that he would take any chance he could get. Don't you think?-
Will sat next to Michael, while Sydney sat next to Francie.
"So, what have you two been talking about?" Sydney asked right before she took a sip of her Sprite.
"Nothing." Francie and Michael said at the same time and way too quickly for comfort.
"Okay…" Will looked at them surprisingly normally. "Hey, Michael, can I talk to you?" Will nodded his head to the other side of the room, way out of hearing distance.
"Sure." Michael nodded as they stood up and crossed the room.
"I just wanted to talk to you about Sydney…" Will started, expecting Michael to cut him off, but he didn't, so Will continued. "Listen, I know she likes you… more then a friend… and I also know that Francie just talked to you about it…"
"Did you guys plan this or something?" Michael looked over to Francie who was talking to Sydney in a fast pace.
"Sorta, but that's not the point." Will muttered. He looked Michael in the eye and sighed. "I didn't kiss her cause I know she likes you… and we all know that you like her." Michael sighed and nodded at that. "I just wanted to make sure that were clear… cause I know that if you don't make a move soon Francie is gonna kick your ass." Will and Michael laughed as they made their way back to the girls.
"See you guys later!" Michael and Sydney called to the other two of their group. They had been called home by their parents, but Michael's mother and sister were actually at the party, so he was just gonna get a ride home.
"Come on, it's just adults and boring talk, let's go in my room." Sydney took his hand and lead him there.
Closing the door so that the boring Christmas music was drowned out, Sydney turned and looked at Michael who was sitting on her desk chair, spinning it around and around.
"You got mistletoe in here too?" Michael laughed as he saw the mistletoe hanging near the door.
"Theresa made me…" Sydney smiled sheepishly.
"Oh… attack of the nanny." Michael rolled his eyes as Sydney laughed at him and came over to hit him on the shoulder.
"Shut up." She sat down on her bed and pulled her legs up and tucked her knees under her chin. "I hate her…"
"Hmm…" Michael spun in the chair one last time, then rolled it over to sit in front of Sydney. "Why doesn't your dad fire her?" He knew the answer already, but he might as well make small talk.
"I don't know." Sydney used that to answer a lot of his questions.
"You use that phrase a lot you know." Michael muttered as leaned back in the chair. For some reason he was just getting frustrated with her.
"Well, I don't know… I don't know everything, Michael." Sydney put her feet on the floor and put her hands on her knees.
"I never said you did." He just sat there staring at her, waiting for something else.
"What is wrong with you?" Sydney narrowed her eyes into a question.
"I seem to be getting asked that a lot." Michael sighed and looked right into her eyes. The green of his were shining as her brown was deepening.
"By who?" Sydney was getting a little angry and she didn't know why.
"By you… by Francie… and I'm sure that if Will had the chance, he would've too." Michael stood up and took a deep breath. "I'm gonna get going, see if mom's ready to leave."
He made his way to the door, as Sydney was registering about Will and Francie.
"Michael, wait." She stood up and went to the door, pulling on his arm to turn him around.
He spun around, frustrated.
"Look up." Sydney stated.
"What?" Michael didn't look up.
Sydney repeated the command. "Look – Up."
Michael looked up and saw what she was talking about. The mistletoe was right above their heads.
As he looked back towards Sydney, he felt her hand go on the back of his neck. "Sydney…" He just got her name out before she pulled his head down to hers and kissed him.
-I knew that Will and Francie had talked to him. It was pretty obvious by the way they hid what they had talked about. I was just surprised at the frustration we'd both went through to get to that kiss. And the look on his face when he saw the mistletoe. That was priceless…-
A/N – So… all of you review and answer me this…
Was it worth the wait??
Plus, my birthday is September 12th… reviews are the best presents ::hint hint::