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: Just a little warning. These next two chapters might not be all that great because I wrote them in such a rush, I guess. I hope you like them though. Anyways keep reading and enjoy! Don't forget feedback!
Chapter 11 Months Later
Maria looked into the mirror as she put on the last piece of her uniform. It seemed almost ironic how things had played out. She could remember sitting in the café months earlier vowing that she'd never wear the uniform that now graced her body, but things had changed so much since then. Maria wasn't as ashamed as she once thought she would have been. She was now a proud Crashdown Café employee, all due to Liz's persuasion of course.
Keeping her eyes on her reflection, Maria adjusted her alien antennas, her mind drifting to Michael. He had come to her a couple of nights after their kiss. He had wanted to end things before they even got started, but not everything always goes according to plan…
Maria sat at her vanity near the window, brushing her hair before bed. Michael hadn't spoken to her in a couple of days and it seemed almost impossible to find him. She wanted to talk to him so badly, to see where things stood with them, but she had only known him for a week at most. She didn't know where he lived and his number wasn't listed in the phone book.
A small tapping on the window caught her attention and she turned in her seat to see what was the cause of it. It was Michael. The rain outside was beating down on him as he pressed his face into the window so he could see her. Maria smiled. He looked better than she had ever seen him.
Slowly she rose and made her way over to the window, sliding it up to let him in. "Michael?" she helped him climb into her room. "What are you doing out there? It's pouring outside."
"It's raining?" Michael glanced at the now closed window to see raindrops hitting the glass. "I didn't notice." he shrugged in a zombie-like state and walked over to her bed, taking a seat. "Maria," his tone was serious as he rose to his feet, unable to sit comfortably. "we need to talk."
"I agree." Maria nodded. "I've been looking for you everywhere, but you are a hard guy to track down. No one would tell me where you lived so I couldn't come see you." she glided up to him, her hands slowly snaking around his neck.
"Yeah, I asked them not to." Michael focused his gaze on the ceiling, seeming to be uncomfortable in her arms. "We can't do this, Maria." his hands slowly lifted to pull hers off of him. "You and me? This? It would never work."
Her eyebrows furrowed and she frowned in confusion. Isabel and Liz had told her that Michael could be confusing, but now she fully understood them. The night of their kiss he had seemed like he had wanted nothing more than to just kiss her. Now he was going to call everything off. Could his feelings really change that quickly?
"So what about the kiss, Michael? It changed everything for me. Did it mean anything to you?" her voice remained calm. It was a simple question. She only wanted a simple answer.
Michael shifted on his feet, shoving his hand deep into his pockets. He continued to avoid her gaze at all costs, knowing what would happen if he looked into her eyes. "That kiss was how I felt at the moment, but I've done some thinking. I've talked to Max and I just don't know if this will ever work. It's not like I don't want it too. It just won't."
"Michael," she cupped his face in her hands, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "at least look at me when breaking my heart." she offered a small smile to let him know that she was just joking. Her smile fell, however, when he didn't return it. "Do you really want things to be this way? I'm not going to lie to you. I'm disappointed. I thought that we were both feeling the same thing."
He broke away from her, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. He wasn't going to be able to do it. He couldn't just walk away from her. "I'm still feeling everything I felt that night, Maria." he sighed in defeat. "The truth is that when I was looking in at you tonight, you were the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You still are."
"So what's the problem?" she cautiously turned him around to look at her.
Starting at her shoulders, Michael's hands ran down her arms, taking her hands. He slowly lifted them to his mouth, kissing each one before speaking. "I don't want to get you involved in my complicated life. You don't need that kind of a burden."
Maria stared at her hands in his. "Shouldn't that be my decision, Michael? It's my life. Shouldn't I have a say in all of this?"
Michael smiled, dropping his head slightly before nodding. "So what is your say in all of this?"
"I say I want to be involved in your complicated life."
Michael placed Maria's hair behind her ears, his hand cupping around her jaw line. He gradually closed the small gap between them, leaving a soft kiss on her lips. "I hope you remember what you've just told me, Maria. You said you wanted to be involved." And as unexpectedly as he had come, Michael had turned and left, without giving her a chance to reply.
His last words that night still confused her. It had almost sounded like being involved with him would be a bad thing, but she couldn't possibly see how it could. Only good things have happened since that night. Michael was doing much better in school. He actually seemed interested now, like he had a reason to try. Could she have been that reason?
Liz' voice had freed Maria from her thoughts that she hadn't realized she was so caught up in. "Michael is sitting in a booth with Max and Isabel, Maria. He seems to be looking for something. Could it be you?" Liz smiled as Maria blushed, shutting her locker door. She pulled the bow on her apron tighter before striding past Liz and out into the café area.
