Disclaimer: I don't own anything Roswell, except for a few episodes that I've taped from TV. Please don't sue!
Summary: When Maria DeLuca and Michael Guerin find each other, will they hit it off? And will they be able to overcome the one thing that he can't change?
Includes: All Roswell characters are included in this story: Alex, Isabel, Max, Michael, Liz, and Maria. Maybe others too, but I'm not sure as of yet. It's mostly a M/M fiction, but it will contains others as well.
Authors Note: Okay, so I think that this chapter is a little bit better than the previous ones. I've given you all what you've been asking for and I hope you like it. Maria and Michael are alone. Will he even try to resist her? Read and find out. Anyway, keep the feedback coming. Until next time! Enjoy!
Chapter 8
Michael could feel his heart beating out of his chest as he knocked on her door. He didn't understand why he was so nervous. He didn't have any reason to be. But he was and he couldn't shake it. He could hear her movement through the door and his heartbeat quickened even more. Why was he so nervous? Michael had only come to study. Studying was not meant to make anyone nervous.
Maria opened the door to let Michael in, knowing that it was him who stood outside. When she saw him, she couldn't help but smile. He looked different from his normal attire. It seemed like he had actually tried to dress to impress. His hair was gelled, but it still fell nicely around his face. He wore a pair of khaki pants and a short sleeve button up shirt. He looked good. I don't think anyone would have denied that fact.
"Michael, hi." she spoke up first, finally getting the feeling that Michael wasn't going to. Something seemed different about him. He seemed almost … nervous. But that couldn't have been it. What reason would he have to be nervous? "Come in and we can get started."
He walked passed her without saying a word, taking a seat on plush couch that sat in her living room. He was almost afraid to speak, knowing that his voice could crack at any given time. That always happened when he got nervous. There was no way he could control it so he didn't want to risk talking until he had calmed down.
"First I want to talk a little about Romeo and Juliet." Maria sat next to him, rather close, and Michael swallowed the huge lump that was rising in his throat. She had been the only thought in his head all day. He had constantly been weighing the pros and cons of getting involved with her since he had talked to her in the hall. "Tell me what you think about the story, Michael. I want to get an idea of where you were coming from when you wrote this." she picked up the essay that he had dropped on the coffee table when he sat.
"Romeo and Juliet?" his voice cracked and Michael mentally cursed himself. Why couldn't he just pull himself together? She couldn't possibly have that big of a hold over him. Not when he had just barely met the girl.
Michael straightened himself up and forced his face to hardened before opening his mouth to speak. It wasn't until he had shifted away from Maria that he had realized that he was leaning so closely into her. He needed to the be the old Michael. The defensive, sarcastic Michael. The Michael that didn't get panicked when forced into a situation with an unbelievably gorgeous girl.
"Romeo was just some guy that wanted a piece. He was the typical male and he saw a pretty girl. It didn't matter that she was half his age and it was completely illegal. When he looked at her, all he saw was a good lay." Michael smiled, glad that the old Michael had come through for him. Deep down, he knew that Romeo and Juliet went much deeper than what he had said but it was definitely a Michael statement. He was back and because of that, his nerves began to settle.
"Not exactly, Michael." Maria giggled, shaking her head at him. This man that she had met only a couple days ago never ceased to amaze her. He said what he thought and that was the bottom line. In a way, she admired that. He didn't care about what people would think or if they would be offended. He said what he felt and that was one of the many things that she found so attractive about him. "Yes, it's true that Romeo was quite a bit older than Juliet, but I don't think that there was a law against that then. In fact, Juliet's mother was trying to marry her daughter off to an older man."
"What's so special about this sappy play anyway? All you girls think that it's the epitome of romance but how can it be that when the two kill themselves in the end. Death is not romantic." Michael's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he unconsciously began to voice his frustrations about the tragedy.
"Romeo and Juliet is a story of romance, Michael." Maria turned into him, leaning in closer so that she could portray what she was going to say. Michael instinctively turned into her, their knees resting against the others. "Death itself was not what was so romantic about the storyline. It was what it symbolized. Love. Two people that were forbidden to love each came together and made the ultimate sacrifice so they could both be together without everyone passing judgment over their relationship. They didn't like hiding their relationship from the world and in Heaven, they wouldn't have to. I think that was what Shakespeare was wanting you to think when he wrote the play."
Michael was drawn in to what Maria was saying and for the first time he realized just why "Romeo and Juliet" was such a well liked play. "I guess that storyline can relate to anyone's life at one point in time or another." Maria remained silent, prodding him to continue with her eyes, afraid that if she spoke Michael would withdrawal from her. He was beginning to open up to her and she didn't want to be the one that stopped that.
"Forbidden love. I know I can relate to that. Not being able to fully open yourself up to love someone because you have so many secrets that she couldn't know. That she wouldn't understand if she did know." Michael moved in closer to her. He knew what he was doing was probably going to get him into trouble later, but this moment would make everything worth it.
Maria licked her lips when she parted them, still afraid to make any sudden movement. She didn't want anything to interrupt this moment. Not when she wanted to kiss him so badly. "I think you are finally beginning to understand it." her voice quivered, but she didn't notice. She wasn't concentrating on anything else but his eyes. His doe eyes that would have been able to drown anything that gazed into them.
"Maria," Michael whispered, closing in the distance between them. He cupped her face in his hands and brought her lips to his. Maybe he shouldn't have been giving into her, but the fact that he could potentially be putting her life in danger didn't worry him anymore. He didn't want to get her involved in everything that would undoubtedly come their way, but he needed Maria. She complimented him in so many ways. She was the best thing that could happen to him and he realized that now. It didn't matter who or what tried to stand in their way because he'd always have Maria to help him fight through it, even if she didn't exactly know who … or what she was fighting for.
